Suffolk University’s Soulfully Versed put on its end-of-the-year showcase on the 5th floor of Sargent Hall April 19, amid a busy weekend of performances. The show, entitled “The Trials and Tribulations of Love,” was the group’s final standalone performance of the semester.
The production centered around themes relating to both romantic and platonic relationships, featuring renditions of songs like Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind,” Christina Perri’s “Jar of Hearts,” Lord Huron’s “The Night We Met,” and Silk Sonic’s “Put On a Smile.” The theme didn’t just apply to the selection of music being performed, but also to the event’s decor. The central aisle was lined with flower petals and individualized love notes were placed on every chair at the event.
“I think because we’re talking about love, singing about love, we wanted to create something that was individualized and really was from us,” said Kassidy Planas, Soulfully Versed’s current President and senior at Suffolk.
The performance not only featured songs delivered by the whole ensemble, but also several solo performances in addition. Soloists for the night included Linh Dinh, Lilly Lafountain, Brady Hurvitz, Jemima Verdier and Rima Zahreddine, as well as Planas herself.
Cheryl Aikins, a 2023 Suffolk graduate and former member of Soulfully Versed, returned to host the night. Aikins served as the narrator providing connective tissue between all the performances in the set.
Soulfully Versed’s performance from the year prior, “The Stages of Heartbreak,” proved they were not strangers to love, a theme they decided to expand upon after initially preparing some of the songs for this year.
The group began these preparations for the showcase as early as last summer, where returning members were given the task of creating a 10-song setlist from a list of 100-plus songs they had suggested.
“From there, we compile and arrange all of our own music. Everything we get is literally by ear. We don’t use sheet music, we don’t use anything like that, we just rely on our own voices and our technique. Vocal practice and literally trial and error. Once we figure out the core songs, that’s where we build the showcase from,” said Planas.
The work doesn’t stop after that point, with the members meeting at least twice a week for several hours at a time to rehearse the material throughout the academic year.
“It’s just been a good time to show everyone what we’ve been up to, why we’re as busy as we are,” said Verdier, secretary of Soulfully Versed and sophomore at Suffolk.
Verdier and Planas said they had to overcome numerous obstacles to ensure the event could even happen, especially in relation to scheduling around the many other Suffolk events taking place near the end of the semester.
“The last two weeks were probably the craziest weeks of our lives in terms of just trying to get everything set and make sure it was a fun night for everyone who came,” said Hurvitz, Soulfully Versed’s public relations chair and sophomore at Suffolk.
That sporadic energy carried over for the better part of the event, eventually making way for more bittersweet moments. The event took time to acknowledge those leaving the club with Samantha Hunte transferring to the University of Alabama and Planas graduating at the end of the year. For the pair, this was the last Soulfully Versed showcase they would get to partake in.
“The reality is that when I started in Soulfully in 2021, we were still wearing masks in Miller Hall,” said Planas, reflecting on her time in the group. “At our showcase my freshman year we had maybe 10 people in the Modern because people were so scared. It was still a very, very real thing. And that doesn’t make it any less real now, but to see how many people showed up on a weekend where there were so many events is incredible.”
But despite her departure, Planas is not worried about the direction the ensemble will be heading in.
“I feel like, after this performance, I know it’s going to be in good hands. I can step away now,” said Planas. “I hope people will continue to have the passion and drive that makes this group work because that’s the only way that it’s going to keep going.”
Verdier and Hurvitz will be stepping up as co-presidents for the club in the fall, a new system for Soulfully Versed that they hope will yield good results.
“Kass has given us such solid groundwork to work off of and she’s shown us what an example of a good leader is,” said Hurvitz. “We’re excited to work together with the whole group and see if it works, and hopefully it works.”
Verdier and Hurvitz said they hope to find new collaborators in the following year, focusing on refining their sound and exploring more of what the notoriously music-rich city has to offer.
Soulfully Versed may have already done their showcase, but will be making select appearances around campus for the remaining weeks of the semester. More information regarding these performances can be found on Soulfully Versed’s social media.
