The Dam Jam 2026 end-of-the-year concert was held on May 15, organized by the Oregon State University Program Council (OSUPC) and Orange Media Network.
The Student Experience Center Plaza main stage featured headlining artist and American rock band, Neon Trees, as well as opening acts Honeydrome and Similar Product.
The celebration started at a pre-event in the Memorial Union Quad at 3 p.m., which included food trucks, yard games, promotional booths, a pop-up clothing sale by Play Girl Vintage, and a free pilates class and raffle held by the Splendid Barre Fitness Studio. The grand prize of their raffle was a free month’s membership to the studio.
The concert officially started at 5 p.m. when the first opener, Honeydrome, took the stage.
Honeydrome is a local band originally from Portland, Oregon, with four members. They played a combination of released and unreleased songs during their set. One of the released songs that some crowd members sang along to was “Carnivore.”
“I didn’t get to see their full set, but what I heard was so danceable, I couldn’t help but twirl!” said Marley Doris, a first year undeclared student.
Between bands, KBVR-FM DJs performed mixes over the speakers to entertain the crowd.
“I’ve been listening to Neon Trees for a couple of years, and so I’m actually pretty excited to listen to them live!” said Nate Burns, a third year biology major, during a break in between the first two acts.
Many people in the crowd were already fans of Neon Trees and had heard a few of their songs.
“I love Neon Trees, and I’m very happy that they chose a good headliner for this year,” said Caroline Faltinowski, a first year marine biology major.
“My favorite song by them is ‘Animal,’ but I think ‘1983’ is a close second,” added Faltinowski.
At 6 p.m., the second opener, Similar Product, began to play.
Similar Product is an OSU band from Corvallis, Oregon, with three members. They played most of the songs on their set from their new album, “Extra Ordinary.”
After a few songs, the lead singer of the band held a contest with the crowd to see which side could cheer the loudest.
The right side screamed louder than the left, so the band crowned them the winners and shot free band t-shirts out of a cannon at them.
“I was thoroughly impressed by Similar Product,” said Zoey Sabbatino, a second year psychology major. “I feel like they had a good stage presence.”
Before Neon Trees took the stage, many students set out picnic blankets and chairs on the MU lawn with their friends so they could listen to the openers without having to be on their feet for as long.
Casey Young, a third year mechanical engineering major, picnicked with a large group of friends throughout the entire concert.
They brought a Frisbee, Uno, and a deck of playing cards, and bought some snacks from the 3 Potato More food truck.
“We got a nice little spot,” said Young. “We’re just gonna camp out right here and just play some games and listen to some good music.”
At 7:20pm, the headlining band, Neon Trees, made their grand entrance as the crowd cheered them on.
During their set, Neon Trees played a total of seventeen songs, including some of their top hits, “Animal” and “Everybody Talks” as well as a few covers, such as, “Don’t You Want Me” by The Human League.
The lead singer of the band, Tyler Glenn, chose to protest ICE before they played their ninth song of the night, El Diablo, which features multiple Spanish lyrics. He shouted “Fuck ICE” into the microphone during the song’s intro, which earned supportive cheers from the crowd.
They ended the night by playing their most popular song, “Everybody Talks.”
“We were all like, when are they gonna get to it?” said Natalie Carrillo, a second year civil engineering major, referencing her friend group’s reactions to the concert.
“They said they had a few songs left, and they played like five, and we were like, ‘Oh, I’m getting scared that they’re not going to play it!” And then [Glenn] started telling the story, and he was like, ‘Everybody’s talking about it,’ and we were like, ‘Oh my God, this is it! This is the moment! Oh my goodness!’” said Carrillo.
Glenn introduced the smash hit song by telling the crowd a story about how he wrote it after his ex-girlfriend started a rumor outing him as being gay.
Throughout the story, it became increasingly clear which song they were about to play, building anticipation and excitement in the crowd as people started holding their phones up to record.
During the song, the whole SEC plaza came alive with energy and excitement. The crowd sang their hearts out the whole time and were the most lively they’d been all night, jumping up and down, scream-singing the lyrics to their friends, dancing in groups on the sides of the venue, blowing bubbles, and waving around glow sticks.
After the concert ended, many people still lingered in groups with their friends in the SEC plaza and the MU, hanging out and chatting about the experience.
“That was literally life-changing!” said Kathryn La Fabe, a third year economics major.
“I was the biggest fan when I was a freshman in high school,” La Fabe said. “Me and my one friend would dance to [‘Everybody Talks’] in class, and my teacher has a video of it. Dam Jam was perfect.”
Her friend, Natalie Carrillo, who had mentioned anticipating the last song of the night, chimed in as well.
“I felt like my brain was exploding with happiness and nostalgia. I feel like high school me would be so proud of me right now. Anytime I hear [‘Everybody Talks’] in the future, I’m just going to be reminiscing on this moment. This is going to be a story I tell my children,” said Carrillo.
