Indie music finds its home at Dragonfly 2022 | The Triangle

Indie music finds its home at Dragonfly 2022

Drexel’s Dragonfly 2022 concert took place on Oct. 22 in Lot K, a parking lot at the intersection of 34th and Ludlow St. 

The first band to touch the stage was Mega Mango, an indie rock band formed by alumni of Drexel University’s Music Industry Program. Glowing under the orange and purple stage lights were Crow Costello (lead singer), Sam Poll (drummer), Nikolas Lee Jones (bassist), and Diet Lemon (lead guitar). At the edge of the stage sat their plushie friend, best described as a mango wearing a cow print cowboy hat. 

The set included a number of their hits like “You Spent All Your Love” and “That Thing U Do”. Towards the end of the set, the band went into “Sorry!”, and Costello prefaced the song by expressing regret towards people from their past who deserve apologies they never received. “I was a huge scumbag in high school,” Crow mused. 

Up next was Raffaella, an indie pop singer based in New York City. Soft clouds of blue and purple fog weaved through her and Hank (lead guitarist) as they prepared for their set. The set opened with “GROWN UP” and led into songs such as “On The Lookout” and “come to nyc, pls.” Between songs, Raffaella gave a shout-out to Philadelphia and made a short mention of her ex-boyfriend. ”I dated a boy who went to the University of Pennsylvania, and he was the worst,” sending the audience into a hysteria of applause and playful boos. “I like to say they breed assholes, but I’m obviously biased.” Her steady and lullaby-like rhythm switched up the night’s tempo after Mega Mango’s blazing performance and carried smoothly into the next act.

COIN took the stage at 9 p.m. opening with the 2022 release “Chapstick” off of their “Uncanny Valley” album, setting the chill tone for the rest of the night. “Cutie” from the same album followed immediately after, picking up the pace a bit, with fun visuals of the chorus line “tangerine” on the stage monitors. 

The lead singer, Chase Lawrence, introduced every song with a clever opening line. His natural ability to interact with the audience gave the show a more relaxed feel. A crowd favorite was the 2022 hit off the “Uncanny Valley” album, “Brad Pitt.” The song had an overall funky beat and great head-nodding potential. 

However, what really got the crowd dancing was the 2017 release “Talk Too Much” from the “How Will You Know If You Never Try” album. The song was emphasized with an alternating mixture of red and blue flashing lights that made the crowd even more excited. 

The show closed with the 2020 hit “Crash My Car” from the album “Dreamland.” This COIN song was trending on TikTok in previous years, and everyone in the crowd was singing along. 

That’s a wrap on this year’s Dragonfly. Check back in 2023 to see what artists will come to Drexel next!