A dream come true

Juniors Dylan Vestal and Jake Ziegler fulfill three-year long goal to perform

Since their freshman year, Liberty University students and former roommates Jake Ziegler and Dylan Vestal dreamed of performing a musical collaboration on what is known to them as “Concert Thursday.”

Now, half way through their junior years, that dream has finally become a reality.

Hosted by Liberty’s Student Activities (SA), Jake Ziegler and the Locals along with artist Dylan Vestal were welcomed to the stage of the LaHaye Event Space Thursday, Feb. 18 to showcase their music.

After an intimate moment of prayer before their set, Jake Ziegler and the Locals jumped up to take their positions center stage. The riffs from a red, electric guitar began to echo through the speakers as the familiar tune of the Bob Seger classic, “Old Time Rock and Roll,” began to resonate into the ears of an eager audience.

“Are you guys ready to rock or what,” Jake Ziegler said, seconds before he began singing that famous first verse.

Influenced by bands such as Aerosmith and Guns and Roses, the band performed several original songs such as “Moving On” and “Don’t Have to Have the Blues” as well as a few covers with an electrifying energy from beginning to end.

Suddenly, members of the crowd began yelling, “give us what we want” over and over again, which sparked a birthday tribute to friend Conner Richardson for whom they performed Taylor Swift’s pop hit “22,” compelling the crowd to sing and dance along to the upbeat rendition, even encouraging members of the SA crew to break out their own moves.

Constant screams and cheers could be heard from the crowd during each song of the vivid performance. The band, made up of guitarists Mark Gartner, Charles Eivens and Matt Coelho, drummer Derek Plegge and second vocalist Rachel Ziegler, left every wall in the large room vibrating ceaselessly.

Their collaboration with Vestal for a cover of The Darkness’ “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” had Liberty student Stephen Adams astonished with the duo’s musical ability.

“I had no idea we had this kind of talent here,” Adams said. “It is just amazing how much energy they have. . . . There was just so much stage presence.”

Although Jake Ziegler brought the enthusiasm with his animated motions, frequent jumping and love for crowd surfing, it was little sister Rachel Ziegler that delivered the attitude to the rock and roll blues performance, according to Adams.

Their set ended with the song “Don’t Have to Have the Blues,” which they announced will be featured in an upcoming EP. The classic rock and roll vibe concluded with the blues as Jake Ziegler popped out his harmonica to finish the performance under blue and green strobe lights.

The night did not end there. The lights dimmed to a faded orange and Vestal took center stage with members of his band, including Jake Ziegler, to tone down the mood of the energized crowd, beginning with a cover of Gavin Degraw’s “I Don’t Wanna Be.”

Vestal encouraged crowd participation throughout each of his songs, allowing a member of the audience, Patrick Pena Ariett, to jump up on the stage to sing along with the chorus filled with “oh’s” he had taught to them just moments before.

With an indie-rock sound, Vestal overwhelmed the audience with the soft melodies and the sweet lyrics of his original songs, “Shades of Grey” and “The Way,” which he said were inspired by his wife, Keren Vestal.

“‘Shades of Grey’ is not based on the movie,” Vestal said, joking with the audience. “It’s about the girl who is now my wife. . . . Most of all my songs are actually about Keren.’”

In between songs, Vestal described a few humorous moments shared between Jake Ziegler and himself as freshman roommates that also explained where Vestal received all of his inspiration.

“Every night before Jake and I went to sleep, I’d look over at him usually around three in the morning,” Vestal said. “Sometimes, I would even set an alarm just to wake him up to tell him this because I knew it would annoy him. I’d say, ‘Hey, Jake . . . I love Keren, man.’ And he’d be like ‘I know, go to sleep.’”

“It was so annoying,” Jake Ziegler said, emphasizing it to the crowd. “Every single night, even when he wasn’t dating Keren, he would wake me up when he was half asleep to tell me he loved Keren.”

Liberty student Monica Lewis said that while she enjoyed the entertaining banter from the artists, she was drawn in by Vestal’s passion and lyrics during his acoustic performance of “The Way.”

“Dylan’s lyrics were captivating,” Lewis said. “I mean nearly every girl dreams about having a song written about her, and I was really impressed with his voice. I’m sure he will go really far in his music.”

The night came to a close with an original song called “The Beat,” that will be featured on Vestal’s future EP as well as covers of Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” and Bloc Party’s “Pioneers.” With the completion of Vestal’s performance, a three-year dream of two young artists had come true.

“It really happen(ed),” Jake Ziegler said. “Thanks to everyone for coming out. We really appreciated sharing our music with you.”

Elliott is a feature reporter.