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On Sunday, April 26, the band “One Night Only” performed their set at Brandeis’ Springfest. The band, made up entirely of Brandeis students, was one of three student openers for Notebook P and Zara Larsson. They performed four covers across their 15-minute set.
This year’s Springfest officially commenced on Sunday, April 26, boasting Swedish singer-songwriter Zara Larsson as the concert’s headliner. Larsson took to the stage after openers Notebook P and student acts, One Night Only, Hazel Drew, Marakosa and disc jockey, JAGA. Hundreds of Brandeis students gathered on Chapels Field to enjoy these performances, jostling to reach the barricade and dancing among friends. After a cloudy morning, the sun managed to peek out just before the student music groups began.
Every year at the end of the spring semester, Brandeis University’s Fine Arts Honors program offers an opportunity for students who are passionate and have demonstrated excellence in studio art to create and display their art at the Spingold Theater's art gallery. Their collective projects that have been cultivated throughout the year are a reflection of what they think about art and how they have grown as artists throughout the year.
On April 25, The Intercultural Center held its annual culture showcase “Culture X” in the Levin Ballroom. Culture X is the final show presented by the different culture groups that make up the ICC. This year's theme was “Woven Worlds” which explored the different ways that cultures intersect and also the different ways in which we interact with our own cultures. The showcase featured performances from Brandeis’ expansive collection of culture groups, as well as a performance by a local Waltham group called Africano Waltham, a community-led nonprofit group that is dedicated to supporting African immigrants and their families, as well as connecting families and children to African culture stateside. The African dances were coupled with traditional instruments. The dancers were not only skilled and beautiful in their movements, but the pure joy on their faces translated through to the audience. Their performance was professional and inspiring. The choice to add Africano Waltham as one of the performances of the night highlights the broader scope of the ICC and reinforces the idea that our culture is not just contained to one community, but seeps into the broader world around us.
“The Winter’s Tale”, directed by Naomi Stephenson ’26, was a wonderful mix of drama and comedy, with the first half of the show taking place in the early 1950s, and the second half set in the ’60s. Stephenson did an incredible job of showing the differences in time and featured costume design by Elizabeth Retakh ’28 and set design by Dalya Lessem Elnecave ’28 and Tessa Srebnik ’29. The costume design also helped clarify the character changes, as most of the actors played multiple roles.
On Friday, April 24, Brandeis’ WBRS hosted SHEBAD for their annual spring concert. The Guelph, Ontario-based band played a setlist of 16 songs, a combination of their most recent album, “Music is the Answer,” their Extended Play “Inner Openings,” single “Inner Rise” and their upcoming album set to come out next spring. The band describes itself as an “indie soul, jazz, fusion, funk band” and is led by singer Claire Voy and instrumentalist Ciccio Spagnolo. The band also features Emil White on keys, sax, bass and vocals; Bella Tian on keys and vocals and Emmitt Leacock on drums.
Content Warning: Mention of femicide.
On April 18, the Brandeis Alumni Art Gallery opened the show, “Only Us: Photographs by Eric Neudel ‘69,” a unique exhibition that highlights the profound life of Eric Neudel: teacher, filmmaker and photographer. As a teacher at the Brimmer and May School in Newton, Neudel’s work continues through his students, and his return to Brandeis with this show further integrates him into academic life. I had the opportunity to speak to Neudel about his work in the show before the opening, and I wanted to share some insights from the conversation.
To wrap up the 2025-26 season, Brandeis’ Theater Department took audiences on a calming nature retreat in the world of “Small Mouth Sounds,” a play about six people who engage in a week-long silent retreat. As the week progresses, the flaws of six retreatants are revealed, from extreme anxiety to selfishness and lust. I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a dress rehearsal for the show and saw it a couple of days before the first performance. Although it was a rehearsal, the show was impressively smooth, with minor hiccups that could easily be corrected by opening night. Seeing “Small Mouth Sounds” with a smaller audience elevated the experience, as the few people watching the retreatants felt even more connected with the characters and the experience of witnessing the silent retreat. There were even moments when I paused before laughing at some of the jokes in the show because they felt like they would break the immersion. Thankfully, the director Samantha Richert Boehm broke the tension by laughing as well, reminding the reduced audience that, although some moments were distinctly serious, the show’s comedy is just as prominent.
On the night of April 18, Brandeis kicked off its “Art Never Sleeps” event. This showcase was a 24-hour span where different forms of art were displayed, performed and experienced all around campus. During the live music portion of this event, Brandeis was lucky enough to have a performance by the indie pop-rock band My Mom Is Here, a New York City-based group founded by Columbia University graduates, Sam Seiff and Nick Sare. The band is led by lead singer Samantha (Sam) Seiff and her boyfriend Nick Sare, who plays the keys. Before their performance, I had the pleasure to interview lead singer Seiff about the band and how the five of them have started to navigate the music industry.
For the first time in five years, the Undergraduate Theater Collective put on an open-cast musical — “Alice By Heart.” Anyone who auditioned was guaranteed to at least be in the ensemble, which lowers the initial stakes and creates a fun way for people to get involved in musical theater on campus. “Alice By Heart” was a great choice for the return of open-cast. The musical has a wacky yet deep story, following Alice Spencer — played by Erin Morton ’29 — as she attempts to comfort her dying friend, Alfred — played by Tessa Srebnik ’29 — by retelling “Alice in Wonderland” as they hide in a bunker during a Blitz in England. Of course, as with any story a person recites by heart, parts are skipped or altered, and all the characters from Wonderland become quite upset as their world gets altered by this retelling. Through impossibly fast costume changes, mystical lighting, a set that merged reality with wonderland and an excited cast, it did not take long for the audience to go down the rabbit hole and forget about reality for a moment.
As someone who attended South Asian Student Associations Dance Night, having gone to a few of their and Namaskar’s events. The event helps for people who want to connect with others within the same culture but also want low-stakes. The venue SASA chose Cholmondeley’s in the castle had enough space for people to mingle and socialize. Compared to other campus events, SASA clearly wrote where and when the event was, instead of making it confusing. I had not been to Chum’s previously, and I was easily able to find it as a result of SASA’s advertising.
This past Sunday, March 22, eight of Brandeis’ a cappella groups performed in their annual Acappellooza event in Schwartz Hall. Brandeis has many a capella groups, ranging in styles from pop to musical theater. The Justice had the pleasure of an interview via email with Starving Artists’ Public Relations, Emily Confino-Miller ’26. Here is what she had to say regarding Acapallooza:
Acappellooza, Brandeis’ largest a capella event, was held in Schwartz 112 on Sunday, March 22, at 5:30 p.m. Organized by the Starving Artists a capella group, this showcase was the perfect look into the University’s music scene. Brandeis currently has eight a capella groups, unique not only in their name choices but also in the genres they choose to perform. Sunday’s show started with Company B, who performed three songs instead of the normal two, as it was their newbie debut. Company B is Brandeis’ oldest a capella group, established in 1984, performing classics and throwbacks since their origin. Up next was Rather Be Giraffes, otherwise known as RBG. Despite the corny jokes the emcee introduced them with, RBG’s two numbers showcased how cohesive they are as a group. Each member of the group, whether they are soloing or not, gives their all, producing wonderful songs. They first performed “Criminal,” originally performed by Fiona Apple, and soloed by Miriam Greenfield; then sang “Bite My Tongue,” originally performed by Wilt, soloed by Val Boyington ’27. RBG was a tough act for Starving Artists to follow, especially with the emcee’s hilarious hand-off of munchkins to Starving Artists in order to make them "Peckish Artists”. Starving Artists first performed “Dancing With the Devil,” originally sung by Demi Lovato, and soloed by Emily Confino-Miller ’26. Confino-Miller blew us all away with her performance, seamlessly turning the mic on when it was handed to her. While that might have been an opportunity to flail, Confino-Miller and Starving Artists demonstrated professionalism.