‘Tiny Dorm Concerts’ series features Belmont talent, dorm rooms

Three transfer students with a shared love of music have begun a popular Tiny Dorm Concert series on campus this year.

Noah Christian, a commercial music major; David Hope, a songwriter majoring in nursing; and Niko Bokos, a songwriting major, met in a Towering Traditions group for transfer students. As the three became better friends living in Thrailkill Hall, they began to discover how their talents could overlap.

The Tiny Dorm Concerts began when Christian and Bokos wanted to film one of Bokos’ songs. A mutual friend tried to do the cinematography, however, with minimal filming experience, Bokos and Christian were not satisfied. Bokos filmed things around his room to try and fill patches of poor quality filming, and the group stumbled on the idea for Tiny Dorm Concerts.

The videos feature songwriters playing original songs in their dorms, showing off both the artist and the space that inspires them.

“Someone’s room captures the essence of who they are, and so their music reflects their space, making it very authentic,” said Bokos.

The group has come across all sorts of oddities during their filming. One of their videos features a giant sperm coming out of a dinosaur mouth, another features a Soviet flag and all sorts of other bizarre personal items.

“In someone’s room we look for personal, unique items like family pictures, furniture or something that reflects their hobbies,” said Christian.

The group insists that they don’t manipulate the rooms at all and encourage their artists to just be themselves and show off their space authentically.

“The great thing is that you can’t do it wrong, because it’s their genuine space, and it’s their home,” said Hope.

While the Tiny Dorm videos only feature original songs, the group has very few other limitations.

“All we really want is the music to be original and to sound good,” said Christian. “Since we’re all musicians, we appreciate a lot of genres and really want to showcase what’s hiding underneath the surface of Belmont.”

Tiny Dorm Concert genres have included artists performing singer-songwriter, rock, rap and everything in between.

Filming the concerts has given the team a chance to meet people all across campus.

“It’s really expanded our horizons and introduced us to a bunch of amazing people we wouldn’t have met otherwise,” said Hope.

Some of their favorite projects so far have been the most challenging.

“I loved filming the Barefoot 57’s because we had 10 guys in a room all playing different instruments. Someone was playing sax, banjo, ukulele and everything else you can imagine. It was just so much fun to hang out with all those super cool guys,” said Bokos.

In the future, they hope to spread Tiny Dorm Concerts to other colleges and create a following around the country.

“The best part is getting to showcase underground college talent,” said Christian. “And there is so much more talent out there, so we can’t wait to grow.”

Tiny Dorm Concerts can be found on theirYouTube page and theirsocial media.

And check out their latest video here: 

Photo courtesy of Tiny Dorm Concerts