Packed on a Wednesday night, The Canopy Club buzzed with conversation as the crowd awaited a performance from indie rock artist J.Y.N on Jan. 24.
The Canopy Club’s red room held a sizable crowd on a Wednesday night and bustled with anticipation and conversation, crowded with people who had come out to see J.Y.N perform in an electric night of indie rock music.
Jin Lee, known by his stage name short for Just Your Name, is described on The Canopy Club’s website as “a Korean-American singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Chicago.”
Opening for the artist were local bands Garden Girl and Haunted X Humans, bringing three explosive sets that lasted just over two hours.
Garden Girl took the stage first, immediately jumping into a dynamic set filled with gritty guitar riffs, metallic drums and powerful vocals without introduction.
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Jiwon Shim, senior in Business, said she had come to The Canopy Club solely for J.Y.N but was pleasantly surprised by Garden Girl’s set and the audience participation.
“The overall enjoyment by the public was beyond my expectations,” Shim said.
Immediately following Garden Girl, Haunted X Humans took the stage with an explosive mix of rock and electronic music, each song intense and high in energy.
The band members playfully bantered with the audience, complimenting people’s outfits and appearances between each song.
Throughout Haunted X Humans’ 30-minute set, the crowd buzzed with excitement as people danced in front of the stage, singing along to each song.
It was about 10 p.m. when the headliner took the stage. Iris Wu, sophomore in FAA, said the artist drew her to The Canopy Club for the evening.
“I haven’t been to The Canopy Club much, but I know a lot of J.Y.N’s songs and I’m very excited,” Wu said. “It’s very much a part of the rock genre and I’m just really into that.”
J.Y.N opened with “Hate This Feeling” from his newest EP “Bittersweet,” as the audience whooped and nodded in unison.
The music vibrated through the floor with each chord ringing through as J.Y.N.’s voice glossed over the deliberate strums of his guitar.
“We can get a little rowdy in here, right?” J.Y.N asked the room with a laugh.
“Hate This Feeling” was the start of an expressive set of indie rock and groovy guitar melodies; each song rich in individuality and bursting with texture.
J.Y.N introduced his next song “Sycamore,” smiling into the microphone as the audience broke into cheers and pulled out their phones to record.
“Sycamore,” from J.Y.N’s 2022 EP “For Fuchsia,” was the slowest song of the night, starting with an unhurried melody and the delicate strum of the guitar.
Though J.Y.N mostly played original songs, he did play a few covers, shouting out some of his musical inspirations before playing Mac Demarco’s “Chamber of Reflection.”
Jada Euman, sophomore in LAS, described her night at The Canopy Club as “amazing,” saying that her favorite song of the night was “Legacy,” also off the “Bittersweet” EP.
“This was actually my first time coming to The Canopy Club, and it was really, really, really good to hear live music,” Euman said.
J.Y.N performed several expressive songs fueled by rich vocals and insistent guitar melodies and led by a steady drum track.
By the end of his hour-long performance, the audience was as energetic as it was at the start, dancing and jumping on the empty cups that littered the floor and chanting “J.Y.N” repeatedly in unison.
“Thank you and get home safe,” J.Y.N said with a laugh, still strumming on his guitar, concluding the set.
For Shim, this performance is only the beginning of what she believes to be a successful future for J.Y.N.
“I am actually more excited about J.Y.N’s growth,” Shim said. “I feel like this is one of his earlier stages of performance, and I just have a feeling that he is going to grow into a superstar.”
