By Ariana D’Avanzo
“Its Mike Stud Homie” chanted hundreds of rowdy fans who were lined up outside of Toads Place in New Haven, on Saturday, April 19.
Die-hard Mike Stud fans began lining up in the cold at 6:30p.m., while the doors for the sold out show did not open up until 8; an hour before the opening act began their performance.
Mike Stud, whose legal name is Michael Francis Seander Jr., is an upcoming rapper who graduated from Duke University. At Duke, he was awarded a full athletic scholarship for baseball. Stud had a promising start to his collegiate baseball career, but unfortunately, Tommy John surgery had him watching his teammates from the sidelines.
With a lot of free time on his hands, Stud began writing music relentlessly, eventually being encouraged by his peers to release some of his songs publicly. Once a few were uploaded on YouTube, he began to create his own fan base.
Since graduation, Stud put more and more focus and emphasis on his musical career, gathering more and more fans. He began producing music videos, selling merchandise and doing what he now loves most: performing.
The fans swamped Toads Place wearing Stud’s merchandise hoping to be the closest ones to the stage. Fans were crowd surfing, dancing and reciting the lyrics to Stud’s songs at the top of their lungs.
Stud first walked on stage around 10:30p.m. after his opening act “I-Am-G”. The enthusiastic Stud supporters began chanting the ‘Stud Call’. This noise “Uhyuuu” is used by Stud and his team members to signal to one another where they are. This noise became a phenomenon and now all Stud admirers use it.
For around two hours Stud performed his hit songs and he took request from the audience. Periodically, when he was out of breath, he would hold out the microphone to the crowd and the crowd simultaneously rehearsed the next line in the song. When this occurred a smile formed on Stud’s face. At one point in the show he explained to the audience that he can’t put into words the joy that his supporters bring him.
The concert ended around 12:30a.m. and the security started filing people out the door as quickly as they could manage to do so. Some fans stayed after the concert to try and snap a quick picture with Stud. When all was said and done, Stud and his crew packed up their equipment and headed home to Rhode Island to spend Easter with their family.
