The Online Reflector

Singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson performed in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall at the University of Indianapolis on Oct. 2 as part of the Homecoming Week festivities.
Hutchinson, who has been active as a singer since 2003, was signed by Warner Bros. Records in 2008 and released his CD “Sounds Like This”  the same year. He released his second album, “Moving Up Living Down,” in 2012. Among his singles, his best-known songs are “OK, It’s Alright With Me,”  “Watching You Watch Him,” and “Rock and Roll.”
Student Activities Coordinator Stephanie Barry was in charge  of bringing Hutchinson to campus, which was a process that required a lot of time to complete, she said.
“We started doing it [the planning] in March or April,”  Barry said. “One step we had was to figure out our budget, and then we needed to get some student input. After that we were able to narrow down some artists and then go forward to a group of students and get their feedback.”
Barry said that originally, there were three performers considered potential contenders for the Homecoming concert. However, of the three names, students were the most receptive and enthusiastic about having Hutchinson on campus.
The concert was not only available for students, faculty, staff and alumni but for community members who wanted to come, to see what was happening on campus, Barry said.
“It’s our opportunity to bring the community onto campus to see our facilities and to tell them more about the arts that the campus has to offer that we’d like them to come back to. There’s that element as well,” she said.
The concert was sold out, with the Ruth Lilly Performance Center  full of students, and community members, including UIndy President Robert Manuel and two of his daughters. Hutchinson and his band performed a variety of songs from his albums, including “Talk Is Cheap”  and “Rock and Roll.” Sophomore international relations and political science major Rachael Junard liked that the university was able to book a performer that she considered fairly mainstream.
“I thought it [the concert] was good. I’m glad that UIndy was finally able to get someone that is relatively popular,”  Junard said, followed by a laugh. “People know who he is, and he’s really good. His band is super nice, and he’s really nice also.”
Hutchinson, who plays pop, rock and folk music, also did a cover of the Backstreet Boys song, “I Want It That Way,” which the audience enjoyed and sang along to.
“He had some music that is super relative,” Junard said. “He had some really nice, chill songs you could sit down to and listen, and there’s some more upbeat ones you can clap along to.”