On a cold rainy day, students gathered in Parks Student Union (PSU) to watch Alice Kristiansen perform. While the day was gloomy, the interior said otherwise, it was decorated with bright fairy lights, pink rose garland, and tea cups to give a sense of Alice in Wonderland. As students gathered to stay warm and dry, they were greeted with cookies and a warm cup of tea and/or coffee.
The vibe of Kristiansen matched perfectly with the weather and the aesthetic of the room. Many of the songs that were performed were written by her and had meaning behind them. Kristiansen’s first song was “Weightless”, followed by “Nature” and “Oregon”. “Nature” was written while staying in Maine, where she had moved over the pandemic, after being lost in hope and not knowing whether music was her path. She began questioning and doubting due to how challenging and draining music became to her. Kristiansen had quit writing music, but Nature was her comeback. Oregon had a similar meaning as Nature, it was about quitting her music but not actually quitting. This song was the first song that she wrote in Maine. While she has never been to Oregon, she decided to write this song.
Kristiansen flew to Seattle from Tennessee to perform at EvCC. After her performance, Kristiansen talked to other students and answered their questions that they had, some involving music and some just wanting to get to know her more. The Clipper had the opportunity to grab a quick interview before her Uber arrived. Kristiansen has always been around music. Her parents encouraged her to be in band class, even though she was not a huge fan of it. They knew that her passion for music was strong. Kristiansen began posting covers on Youtube. “I just started posting covers so early on Youtube, where it was that hard to get attraction. I started about ten years ago”. This led to her writing songs and realizing that she was meant to be in the music industry. Kristensen began booking shows in New York and other events. Kristiansen followed with, “whenever I have a college show, it is really nice”. Due to how young Kristiansen was when she began posting covers and how quickly she grew on social media, she began questioning who she really was and what she wanted to do with her music. “I began taking label meetings before I knew how I wanted to write and who I wanted to be as an artist. It felt like I was playing pretend the whole time and [did not] know what I was doing”. As expressed before, Kristiansen ended taking a break from it all until her passion for writing was much stronger. “Falling back in love with the small stuff and not this big picture of social media garbage”. An inspiration for college students, to focus on the smaller picture rather than the bigger picture. Although she was not able to do much in Washington, she hopes to come again.
Victoria Peters hosted this event. She shared that she had heard Kristiansen’s voice prior to the show, stated how it was calming and soothing, that she thought what a perfect idea to make the theme Alice in Wonderland. “Everytime I heard her voice, I felt like I was in a dream. I transported, Alice in Wonderland is like a dream too”. There was a deeper meaning and connection than what was expected. In high hopes, Peters hopes to bring moving events like these on campus. More events that help channel students’ emotions and that are family friendly is a goal for this year.
Keep connected on The Clipper for more interesting and entertaining stories coming this Winter quarter. Join the StudentLIFE social media for further events.