Bright lights, a dense crowd and a wide array of music took over Anderson Center as Hamline University held its third annual Winter Wonderjam.

Through the combined efforts of HU Radio and the Hamline University Programming Board, as well as support from HUSC and The Oracle, Winter Wonderjam included performances from DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip, Dizzy Fae, D.R.A.M., and Marian Hill.

Surprisingly, Hamline’s third Winter Wonderjam changed its vibe this year with its powerful but chill performers. It was a welcome change of pace that will be remembered for Wonderjams to come.

Kicking the night off, Winter Wonderjam welcomed DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip (That’s Tip with 10 i’s). DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip rocked the stage in a full pink sweat suit as he played a mix of today’s music with lesser known artists or threw things back to the 90s, getting the crowd pumped up before the show and in between each performance. Unlike many solo DJs, he never actually addressed the crowd, had a minimal setup, yet still managed to have an immense amount of stage presence and personality.

Dizzy Fae, a local St. Paul R&B artist, opened the show with a great performance. Dizzy Fae is a relatively new artist, but already knows how to encapsulate an audience with her quiet tone, strong vocals, and fun, offbeat personality. She performed her first single, “Color Me Blind,” which released only five months ago. Dizzy Fae has performed at multiple venues in Minnesota including First Avenue.

Wonderjam’s second act, D.R.A.M. (According to his YouTube, short for, “Does. Real. Ass.Music.”), took the stage with a blazing performance. The loud exuberant rapper performed songs off his original EP, “#1Epic EP”, and songs from his newest album “GAHDAMN!” which dropped in Oct. 2015. D.R.A.M also offered the crowd advice saying that “a lot can change in a year” and reminding students that no matter what, you should follow your dreams.

This year’s headliner was a duo from Philadelphia known as Marian Hill, whose style is mix of Alternative and R&B. This duo slowed things back down with their smooth, soulful, unique vocals and beats, and their performance was the highlight of the night.

Overall, Marian Hill’s style doesn’t differ very much between their songs. Nevertheless, they have style that’s their own.

Marian Hill is made up of two performers: Jeremy Lloyd and Samantha Gongol. Lloyd threw down subtle beats that carried each track as Gongol entranced the audience with her incredible voice. No matter the song, “Got it,” “Lips,” or their most recognizable track, “One Time,” Gongol absolutely killed it.

Of course, it couldn’t be Wonderjam and Chill without some saxophone. Marian Hill also brought Steve Davit who served as both the bassist and saxophonist for the night. The lone sax got the crowd cheering and excited. With every other performer of the night purely relying on a DJ as their instrumental back up, it was refreshing to see a talented musician jam out on an actual instrument.

Winter Wonderjam has had its most unique year yet. While no artist got the crowd going as much as DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip, each performer brought a new atmosphere to the stage. Winter Wonderjam has its work cut out for it to top this year as this event has proven to be a staple of the Hamline University experience.

If you have feedback or are interested in getting involved with next year’s Wonderjam, contact hupb@hamline.edu or hamlineradio@gmail.com.

If you are interested in following any of Winter Wonderjam’s great performers, please follow the links below:

DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip can be found at: https://soundcloud.com/tiiiiiiiiiip

Dizzy Fae can be found at: https://soundcloud.com/dizzyfaeliveshere

D.R.A.M. can be found at: http://www.only1dram.com

Marian Hill can be found at: http://www.marianhillmusic.com