Iranian Armenian singer-songwriter Andranik “Andy” Madadian performed at Foellinger Auditorium on Oct. 28. The event was presented by the Iranian Heritage Foundation.

Andy is an international icon with a diverse roster of achievements. He has released 15 albums in the span of a 40-year solo career, performed in various global venues, contributed to a handful of films and supported several charitable causes. 

Highlights of the singer’s career include being the first Iranian Armenian singer to be invited to the White House and his humanitarian collaboration with Bon Jovi.

“The goal is to promote diversity, inclusion and Iranian cultural heritage,” said IHF member Mehrdad Mohammadi about the purpose of Andy’s highly anticipated event. “We believe that art and music are a common language that everyone can speak and understand.”

When asked why the IHF chose Andy, Mohammadi cited Andy’s international fame, Ellis Island Medal of Honor and role in bringing awareness to Iranian politics.

“Andy is the perfect feat,” Mohammadi said.

“We’re trying to familiarize people from our country with our culture, especially the music,” said Somaye Babaei, secretary of IHF. “Andy is one of the most iconic singers for Persian music. All of us grew up with his songs, especially because he has very happy songs, so we hear them everywhere, in weddings, birthdays, parties — everywhere.”

“He’s very famous with not just Persian people, but people from neighboring countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, even Armenia,” Babaei said. “So we have lots of people coming today.”

The concert began at 8:10 p.m., when the lights dimmed and the band began to play. Strobe lights bathed the stage in green, red and purple, illuminating the band and projecting their silhouettes onto the auditorium walls as they launched into an energetic instrumental introduction featuring an electric guitar solo.

Andy walked onto the stage to roaring applause from the audience. He wore a black suit, shirt and pants with a golden-yellow tie and pocket square. 

At the sight of Andy, audience members got up to dance and cheer. Within the first few minutes of Andy’s appearance on stage, the majority of the audience migrated toward the front of the auditorium and stood right up against the stage, forming an improvised dance pit. Some audience members danced in the aisles as well. 

“We’re gonna be partying tonight, so I apologize to all the people who bought the best tickets,” Andy said.

“These people are illegally here,” he joked as he pointed to the crowd that had accumulated in front of the stage. “But we’re gonna let them be, because we’re good people and we’re gonna have fun anyway …If the front row people are upset, they can come sit here on stage with me!” 

Throughout the show, Andy interacted with the crowd, inviting people onto the stage to dance alongside him, giving them hugs and obliging pictures before they re-joined the audience. 

He took phones offered by audience members to snap pictures and record videos, received a flower bouquet, warmly grasped outstretched hands and pointed at audience members with a lighthearted grin. 

At one point, an audience member handed their toddler to Andy, who gently held the child before they were safely returned to their guardian. 

Andy also made time in the show to celebrate the birthdays of the audience members, inviting them on to the stage as the band played a rendition of a popular Persian birthday song to celebrate their special day.  

One of the audience members who celebrated their birthday on Andy’s stage was Parisa Rabbani, graduate student studying computer science. 

“It was magical,” Rabbani exclaimed. “The fact that he came — he’s a big superstar in Iran — the fact that he came here in such a small city just to sing for the students shows how kindhearted he is. We had a blast and God bless him.”

“It was a dream come true,” Rabbani said, reflecting on her experience dancing on stage. “I always dreamed of him singing at my wedding, and now he sang at my birthday. He sang the most famous birthday song in Persia for me. That was unbelievable.”

In between songs and subsequent applause, Andy commented on the liveliness of the audience, switching between his native tongue and English to joke with the crowd and hype them up. The crowd whooped and cheered in reaction to his exchanges with them. 

“What a beautiful crowd,” he said. “So good to see you guys!”

“We’re so happy you showed up because it was really cold,” Andy said. “We’re from California, what do we know? We’re all proud to be in this beautiful city, it’s a cold city, but very warm-hearted.”

Before the show, band member Verej Ajounian commented on his time at the University and experience being a part of the band. 

“I like the vibe, the energy, the diversity in the university,” Ajounian said. “I appreciate the architecture. It’s so much to cover in this one answer, but all in all, great,” 

When asked what brought him to the opportunity of working with Andy, Ajounian remarked frankly, “life.”

“I work with Andy and we go all over the world,” Ajounian said. “Different cities, different cultures, different countries. We’re fortunate enough to get invited and it’s an honor for us to be here. We have such a cool, educated and diverse audience with such a good cultural cause. We love bringing people together to have fun, party and enjoy life, celebrate life.”

Band member Orbel Babayan has played with Andy for 23 years.

“I’ve been working with him for a while and we travel everywhere … He pretty much plays everywhere in the world that there’s Iranians,” Babayan said.

“Champaign, Illinois was awesome,” Babayan said after the show. “I’ve never been here and I had a great time here. Everyone was super friendly, it’s a super chill college town.”

Every so often, Andy stopped singing or motioned for the band to pause the music to let the audience take over. The auditorium filled with the booming sound of the crowd singing the lyrics of the song in unity. Other times, he held out the mic to the audience in intervals, who shouted the lyrics of the song in response. 

Before the last song of the set, Andy invited Mohammadi back onto the stage to thank him and other IHF members for organizing the event. 

“This is the last song everybody,” Andy yelled into the microphone. “Give it up!”

Andy brought the night to an end by yelling “good night” and taking the hands of some audience members one last time before exiting the stage. 

Overall, Andy’s concert left a lasting impression on the audience, who had flocked from different backgrounds to see the famous singer.

“It was amazing,” said Sepideh Azizi and her sister, who could be seen dancing in the aisles throughout the concert. “This was the first concert my sister attended.”

“I loved it, I’m surprised he wasn’t out of breath,” said future Illinois student Dida Majdi. “We’re from Chicago, I’m coming here next year for college. My parents were like, ‘Let’s just just get a tour of what it will be like,’ plus they really love Andy.”

Staff and security managing the event also felt its energy.

“It was chaotic, but it was interesting,” said  staff member Tommyia Lacy, who oversaw the crowd. 

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