Pace University students welcomed singer/songwriter Travis Rocco on Thur., Jan. 28 for Programming Board’s first weekly Happy Hour event of the spring 2016 semester hosted in the Gottesman Room of the Kessel Student Center.

Rocco, who is currently on tour throughout New York State, serenaded the crowd of students with his acoustic guitar and stomp box which was used to add percussion to the songs performed, showing the audience that he is a talented one man band. The stomp box recreates the sound of drums when he stomps his feet on it at a certain rhythm.

During his set, Rocco played cover versions of popular songs from a variety of different genres. Performances included the Michael Jackson hit, “Man in the Mirror”, a mash-up of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” and Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls”, The Lumineer’s hit “Ho Hey,” and an acoustic version of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity”.

In between his covers and chatting with the students while setting up for his next song, Rocco also graced the audience with an original song titled “Bullseye”, which he said was a song about falling in love with someone yet it not working out due to bad timing.

Although “Bullseye” is not a part of it, Rocco has just released an album of original songs on iTunes titled Smoke & Tangerines, which was recorded over a two year period and has gained critical acclaim. The album includes songs titled “Will You Be Mine,” “Closer,” and “Never Been So Clear”—all of which showcase Rocco’s unique, raspy voice that audiences in his many shows in clubs, bars, and college campuses all over the country enjoy.

Sophomore Keyshana Dupuy especially enjoyed the performance, dancing in her seat for most of Rocco’s set.

“I thought the show was great!” Dupuy said. “I liked that he had a very inviting voice and played songs that people knew.”

Rocco’s performance was part of Programming Board’s weekly Happy Hour event, where they bring different performers such as musicians, comedians, and spoken word poets to the campus in order to entertain students.

“I wish the student body would come more to these events since it’s included in our tuition.” Dupey added. “You never know, someone we see might become famous.”

Performers are selected from a conference that members of Programming Board attend each semester where they watch quick five minute performances by each person and then meet them during the weekend in order to book performances throughout the semester.

Vice President of Programming and senior Meghan Biggs encourages the students of Pace to take advantage of the free event held weekly on Thursdays.

“[The Happy Hour events] are part of your activity fee and meant for the students to come and enjoy,” Biggs said. “Everybody’s welcome. You can bring your friends and enjoy a dinner and a show.”

Travis Rocco is on social media (@travisrocco). For more information about tour dates and other song releases, visit www.travisrocco.com. Rocco also posts videos on his Youtube channel under his name.

Biggs sends out weekly emails listing the events that Programming Board is hosting for the week that all undergraduate students should be on the lookout for.