“I’m hot, I’m good. Thank you for asking,” said headliner Ashe after the opening song of her performance on Nov. 16 in Oregon State Univerisity’s Memorial Union Ballroom, a concert planned by the Oregon State University Program Council.
Ashe laughed and responded to an audience member who had shouted, “How are you?”
For the rest of the show, Ashe proceeded to shed the jacket layers of her outfit as the heat in the room increased due to the dancing bodies packed closely to the stage. The cold of November outside contrasted with the enthusiasm of the audience, who had packed into the MU ballroom to watch Ashe perform.
“I took a long time off and I wasn’t really sure I was going to come back,” Ashe said about halfway into her set, in reference to her gap in performing live recently.
“I chose to do two college shows and you are one of them!” Ashe said, which was met with cheers from the audience.
“What better way, and safer arms to be with,” Ashe said, in reference to the college students she was performing for. “You are the love and the salt of the earth.”
Each song was met with passion and pep from the crowd and her groovy lyrics made for a perfect vibe for her college audience to sway and dance to. A solid mix of slower and mid tempo songs was peppered with her more upbeat melodies, like her song “Emotional” which features a more R&B type beat and a tambourine.
Ashe performed her new song “Pushing Daisies,” which she described as a “groovy, little weird” song. Ashe explained that she wrote the song with Suki Waterhouse and the overall experience pushed Ashe to get back into songwriting.
“That day, we wrote this really beautiful song and it just sparked this fire in me again, and the next day I started working on my album,” Ashe said.
“Let’s just groove,” Ashe said, and the audience applauded, many already knowing the song and singing along.
After the show, some fans described their “starstruck” experience watching Ashe perform live.
“She walked by me and I was at a loss of words,” said Amber Dunlea, a second-year and a long-time fan, who had stood nearer to the front of the audience.
Even those who knew Ashe’s music less extensively, apart from her major hits, said the performance was still well worth it.
“She was a great performer, one of the best I’ve seen,” said Sophia Williams, a fourth-year apparel design major.
Ashe performed for just over an hour, starting the show promptly at 8:30 p.m. and ending somewhere around 9:40 p.m. Her setlist included a range of music from her less viral but just as beautiful “Hornet’s Nest,” to a cover of Chappel Roan’s “Good Luck Babe,” and Gracie Abrams’ “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” and also her most famous song, with over 850 million plays on Spotify, “Moral of the Story,” which she closed her performance with.
“This is so fun. Are you guys having fun?” Ashe asked.
This question was met with great applause and cheering from the crowd.
Ashe also introduced her whole band, not only highlighting them during their instrument solos but also gushing about each as a person she loves. Members of Ashe’s band, including guitarist Emma Harvey, keyboardist Jackson Dyson, and drummer Scooter Spicer, were all highlighted.
During her final song of the night, “Moral of the Story,” the crowd sang and shouted the lyrics in an almost therapeutic fashion and gave Ashe a wonderful send off with everything they had.
The concert ended as Ashe danced off stage to Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” playing overhead and the crowd dispersed to either the exits or to buy a vinyl copy of Ashe’s latest album, “Ashlyn.”
