Students Praise Alesso’s Crimson Jam Set in First Show Under Higher Student Activities Fee

Harvard students praised Swedish DJ Alesso’s performance at Crimson Jam, the College’s annual outdoor back-to-school concert, praising the show’s laser lights and remix-heavy setlist at the first major event held since the College raised the Student Activities Fee by $250.

In more than 20 interviews with The Crimson, students said they preferred Friday’s concert to both Ravyn Lenae’s rain-soaked Yardfest in the spring and Bryce Vine’s set last fall.

Beginning this academic year, the College raised the SAF — formerly an optional $200 annual payment — to a mandatory $450 charge, a shift administrators said would shore up budgets for campus-wide programming. Associate Dean for Student Engagement Jason Meier confirmed in a statement that Crimson Jam drew on the increased funds to “invest in both our headliner and enhanced production, like the laser lights and giveaways.”

“The expanded Student Activity Fee was instrumental in helping Harvard College Live create the best Crimson Jam I’ve seen in my time here,” Meier wrote.

The concert also marked the first show planned by Harvard College Live, a student organization spun off from the College Events Board this year to handle the College’s two major concerts.

Alesso, whose full name is Alessandro Lindblad, is a Grammy-nominated producer known for “Heroes (We Could Be)” and “Calling (Lose My Mind),” and has collaborated with Usher, Katy Perry, and Hailee Steinfeld. Several students said his remixes of familiar pop songs gave the set an accessibility that recent headlines lacked.

“It’s easier to have songs we all know instead of an artist we’re unfamiliar with,” Samantha M. Villareal ’29 said, adding that she preferred Alesso’s remixes to Vine’s original discography. “Even though the middle was very mosh pit, all the songs are familiar.”

Villareal said the clear skies also gave the concert an edge over Yardfest.

“The weather helps it be better than Yardfest,” she said.

Amy L. Zhang ’29 said she was glad to see an electronic dance music artist headline.

“I’m a big fan of EDM and so I was really glad that Alesso was headlining this year’s Crimson Jam,” Zhang said. “The crowd this year was a lot more hyped.”

“I have so many Alesso songs stuck in my head,” she added.

Oliver M. Lontay ’27 said he had followed Alesso long before the announcement, having grown up watching the DJ draw crowds across Europe.

“He’s a big deal in Europe, where I’m from,” Lontay said. “It was very cool for me.”

“I don’t really tell much about Crimson Jam to people, but if I talk about any of them, this might be the first one,” Lontay added.

Sheila Menon ’28 said the set exceeded her expectations.

“I was blown away,” Menon said. “It was ethereal. It was like we were on another plane. I’m not not even lying.”

Several students said the production was as much of a draw as the music. Valencia M. Zhang ’29 said the lasers and smoke that accompanied Alesso’s set made the concert feel immersive in a way past shows had not.

“I really enjoyed — in addition to the music — the lights and the smoke,” Zhang said. “I think that added to the experience a lot. I don’t remember that being a feature of last year’s Crimson Jam or Yardfest.”

Stella T. Charbonneau ’28 called the festival — which included an inflatable slide, a poster sale, and a train ride around Harvard Yard — “really well-organized.”

“The light show was amazing,” Sharvenow said.

Zhang said she hoped the College would keep spending the SAF on large-scale events moving forward.

“I think that in the future, Crimson Jams should be more immersive, like this one was, and perhaps the Student Activities Fee that we’re paying extra for should continue to be used for better purposes,” she said.

George R. Ubell ’29 was more blunt.

“If it’s gonna be money, I’m glad that it’s better,” he said.

—Staff writer Wyeth Renwick can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @wzrenwick.