At nearly 80 degrees, Friday’s midwestern heat edged out to be unbearable. It somehow seemed pleasant, though, with the beautiful music of IU’s Bloomington Delta Music Club, which was putting on its annual BDMC Presents event in Dunn Meadow.
BDMC Presents is the annual culmination of these students’ endless stream of jam sessions, band practices and club meetings — all while centered on creating music and having fun while doing so.
Anya Shah, a sophomore at IU, was excited to play her Motown set outside of just playing for Jacobs School of Music.
“BDMC gives you a place to meet a lot of musicians,” Shah said. “In Jacobs, it’s very serious and very intense. BDMC is the place where you can do a lot of things and still be part of music in Bloomington.”
Junior Anya Heminger and senior Advaith Bharathwaj celebrated their final performances with BDMC. Both are graduating before the next performance — Bharathwaj in May and Heminger in December. The performances were comprised of bands that play outside of the club as well as ones formed for this event. Heminger said even though they might not be best friends, they all focus on making incredible music together.
“Some of (our band) have been working so well together and the rest of us don’t really know each other,” Heminger said. “We’ve just been playing off each other and it’s so fun.”
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Bharathwaj said the main reason for joining BDMC was to have a place to play music.
“I was looking for just a place to play music with people,” Bharathwaj said. “I finally found it second semester (of freshman year).”
During Bharathwaj’s senior song, “Going Home,” the sky turned dark and rain began to pour down.
“I'm happy it ended off there honestly,” Bharathwaj said. “That was literally the last note. I could end my career there.”
The downpour of rain created a DIY atmosphere that BDMC thrives on. Its spring concert can’t end normally; last year, it was cut short by their tent blowing away during a rainstorm. Thankfully, it resumed in a member’s basement.
They all hoped the stage could still be used for the last few sets, Bharathwaj said. The sound crew waited for the thunderstorm to pass, ensuring a safe stage for the performers. While the crew monitored the rain, a large group of BDMC members grabbed their instruments and continued playing their songs.
By 8 p.m., the crew got the stage back up and running. The seniors sang their final songs and the rain trickled down over the last hour of performances. The night was serene, filled with the music they’d worked so hard to produce.
