A couple of weeks ago, I ventured back to Sarah Lawrence to watch Alyssa’s final show before she graduated. Those who’ve been keeping up with it will know that my friend Alyssa has been hard at work creating and now promoting her magnum opus album in the SLC music program. 

For the event, Alyssa was putting on a real show, the closest thing that an undergrad can have to a Vegas act. Projected behind her was all of the artwork she had for each song and standing beside her for the beginning of each song was one of her friends wearing a dress that she made herself. 

Each dress represented the song that she was singing, acting as an extension of her work. I wore a beautiful light green dress that she made for her song Evolution, doing a twirl and a curtsy. Alyssa is probably the only person for whom I would do this.

Alyssa, a true renaissance woman, created the dresses that go with the songs, created the art that goes with the songs, and created all of the songs. This was done in part to promote her new album The Train (all bangers, no skips, swear to god).

People bought her merchandise, also handmade, afterwards. She was charming and graceful in between each song, wishing the crowd a Happy Passover and explaining the inspiration behind the album that she’s been working on for over a year now. The event was a hit with plenty of turn-out and made for the perfect send off to her time at SLC. 

I’ve been watching Alyssa’s music career from the wings since the beginning, first through her performances at Sarah Lawrence and then throughout the city. I’ve heard The Train more times than I can count and can probably sing along when asked. I’ve had some very fun times with this album, as have many other people. 

Congratulations to my mega-talented friend on her final performance at Sarah Lawrence. Now, she is on to new things and I’m ready to hear the music that she makes out of all of it.

The Tragic Queen,

Raquel

P.S.: Check out my previous blog post about my recent trip The Botanical Garden in Queens