Let me tell you what I’ve been up to with conferences and seeing all our amazing College and University friends, as well as our industry Colleagues. I’ve been out meeting with folks we know and new ones as well, and showcasing acts that we represent, telling people about our new experiences and concepts, and booking talent for the spring and fall of 2026.
My last conference of the year was APCA, and all I can say about Chicago was WOW, what an amazing weekend I just had! The vibe at APCA Chicago is just, well, friendly! It’s that Midwest feel where everyone knows your name and says hello. The students are amazing and seeing them attend the ed sessions that we presented about Best Practices when Bringing Events to Campus, and also Major Events from start to finish showed me that they were engaged as well. Ready to take back the knowledge and make programming for their campus communities better.
There were great turnouts for both sessions, and the reaction to our showcasing acts was epic, too!
The school members brought such great energy to the conference. On the first day, we started out with Comedy Magician, Michael Kent and Saxophonist/Singer Alex Charles at the lunch showcase, and the reaction was amazing. We had a great exhibit hall where we reconnected with some current clients and got to meet a ton of new folks. Plenty O’Cookies, our cookie decorator/drag queen, joined us in the booth and got to talk about the cookie events and cake toppers they can do!
Dinner was even more fun as Djay Mando got people out of their seats and danced with some huge energy and Gibran (like Lebron) Saleem got them laughing with a great stand up set! A fun and busy after-dinner exhibit hall and we were then off to the Late-Night Jam! Alex Charles got up with his sax and blew that horn and the minds of the audience with his talent!
Saturday was another busy day, up early to get some blocks forming for the Friday showcases, and we were lucky enough to get some great business. You can find that info about routed dates by following Degy on socials and receiving our monthly routing email we send the first week of each month. We did lock in some firm dates for the showcasing acts and Plenty O’Cookies, and then were off to lunch for another showcase with Devon Braxton, Devon’s smooth R&B and perfect version of Michael Jackson’s Human Nature had the room swaying to his songs.
Another exhibit hall and one more showcase where an a acapella group Filosophy showed their talent and Filipino heritage with some fun tunes to keep everyone in a light upbeat mood.
All in all it was a really great trip to Chicago for APCA, I’m looking forward to confirming and building blocks and saving schools money on great talent!!
While my colleague Jeff was chilling in Chicago, holiday magic was in the air at NACA Riverside in California! The energy kicked off Thursday night with a fun Musical Painting event for the students, as well as a conference-long activity called “Orange you Glad you Belong”, highlighting how the students can create connections and belonging with the activities on their campuses!
After getting set up in the marketplace, my afternoon kicked off presenting an ed session called “Knowing your Venues: Factors to Consider when Planning Campus Programs” where I shared helpful tips and tricks about picking the best events to fit the available spaces on your campus. After the session on Friday, we went straight to the first showcase of the weekend, hosted by our own Danny Franzese! Danny shared stories of his time working on Mean Girls and his mom trying to set him up with Ryan Gosling while on a trip to Los Angeles and brought his humor and charm to keep the audience entertained.
The showcase officially kicked off with comedy mentalist and magician Eric Dittelman, who wowed the crowd with his ability to guess drawings blindfolded (and YES he kept his eyebrows despite the duct tape)! He even correctly guessed a drawing of the school mascot from our friends at the University of Akron.
Following Eric, we had our favorite queer Latinx poet Chibbi, who captivated the audience with his poem entitled “Autumn, Always” about community, hope, and human resiliency. While in the booth after the showcase, Eric continued to wow students with his tricks like knowing the name of their first crush and guessing which city they would be flying to. Students are also happy to recreate Danny’s iconic moment from Mean Girls, shouting “She doesn’t even go here” while wearing the classic blue hoodie and sunglasses!
Saturday brought another great day in Southern California. I kicked off the morning teaching students how they can plan their own major concerts on campus, talking about things like researching the acts, creating an offer sheet, the importance of having a proper barricade, and more! After the ed sessions on Saturday morning, we headed back to the showcase in the afternoon, which featured singer-songwriter Carmen Dianne, who mesmerized the crowd with her bubbly personality and soulful voice. Covering favorites like Tennessee Whisky, Still Into You, and Flowers, the audience was clapping and singing along the whole time.
As the college conference circuit wraps up this fall, we’re more inspired than ever by the passion and creativity we’ve seen from campus programming boards nationwide. The connections made and conversations started this November, and all season long, remind us just how powerful live entertainment can be in shaping unforgettable campus experiences.
Now is the perfect time to start planning your spring and fall calendars, and our Degy agents are ready to help you build the perfect lineup for your students. Whether you’re looking to bring in major acts, up-and-coming artists, or unique interactive experiences, we’ve got you covered.
Reach out to our team today, and let’s start making next semester’s events one to remember!