Indie band Mr. Moon presents mellow melodies to recharging marathoners

Marathoners were still bursting with exuberance in their 16th hour of dancing at 2:30 a.m. The lively beats and lyrics of Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” and Meghan Trainor’s “All About that Bass” filled Pauley Pavilion, channeling some much-needed energy to the crowd. At 3:20 a.m., however, the exhaustion of the dancers became […]

Pediatric AIDS Coalition members join Dance Marathon program as musicians

Several Pediatric AIDS Coalition at UCLA members showed off their own musical talents during the 19th hour of Dance Marathon. Following the event’s vigil, which shared life stories of children and young adults affected by HIV, UCLA students and one ambassador entered the Pauley Pavilion stage to perform the Andra Day song “Rise Up.” The […]

CVBZ energizes Dance Marathon crowd with upbeat, original songs

Dancers scrambled towards the front of the stage to hold hands with Sean Jacobs, a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and producer who performs under the pop soul alias CVBZ. Jacobs, who has only performed at three shows previously, said his performance at Dance Marathon is his biggest show yet. Performing at the 26-hour event is good […]

SoCal-native band Half the Animal brings alternative pop to Dance Marathon

Half the Animal’s all-black outfits clashed with the bright sounds they brought to Dance Marathon. Growing up in Laguna Beach, California, drummer Nick Gross and lead singer Chase Johnson began their musical careers in a band called Open Air Stereo in high school, mainly performing rock music, Gross said. However, the group rebranded themselves as […]

Rock artist grandson charges dance floor with original song ‘Bills’

This post was updated April 8 at 6:30 p.m. Rock artist grandson jolted Pauley Pavilion with his original song “Bills,” featuring rock ‘n’ roll beats and angsty vocals. Jordan Benjamin, a Canadian artist known by the stage name of grandson, performed with his drummer, guitarist and keyboardist five hours into the 26-hour Dance Marathon event. Going into the […]

Indie-rock band Sage St. takes the stage at Dance Marathon 2017

The lights went down in Pauley Pavilion and dancers crowded in front of the stage as indie-rock band Sage St. emerged into the spotlight. The audience swayed to the band’s upbeat rhythm under dim red lights as it launched into its first song “Clouds.” The band also performed the song “Alive,” a favorite of lead […]

Student Hannah Payne makes appearance in ‘13 Reasons Why’ series

Hannah Payne’s phone was off when she got the call that she landed her first-ever recurring role in a television series. The second-year American literature and culture student was at a concert in San Francisco with her family when she missed five calls from her agent’s personal cell phone at 11 p.m. Realizing the repeated […]