The 33rd Annual Pops on the Heights fundraiser brought Boston College students and their families a rousing performance from Dan + Shay, Boston Pops, and impressive student groups.
The Barbara and Jim Cleary Scholarship Gala is an annual fundraiser that has raised over $160 million over its lifetime for financial aid scholarships for BC students. This year’s Pops on the Heights raised $12.3 million.
“It brings up the best in who we are and what we represent as a Jesuit, Catholic institution,” said John Fish, chair of the BC Board of Trustees.
The night began with performances from BC’s a cappella groups, including The Sharps, The Bostonians, the BC Dynamics, and the BC Acoustics. The Heightsmen capped off the a cappella set with a lively mash-up that featured Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” and Toto’s “Africa.”
Then, the Boston Pops took over, with conductor Keith Lockhart leading a rendition of “You Will Be Found,” a song from the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. The performance featured student vocalists Elena Skirgaudas, MCAS ’27; William Bollbach, MCAS ’27; and Veronica Wells, MCAS ’26. Their clear tones drove home the song’s inspiring message.
The Boston Pops finished off with a light-hearted Beatles medley to which Lockhart said he hoped audiences would sing along.
“We got a 70-year age range in the audience, so we thought, what music does everyone know?” Lockhart said. “The Beatles. Everyone knows the Beatles.”
The medley danced from “Hey Jude” to “Twist and Shout” to “With a Little Help from My Friends,” prompting the crowd to wave their hands and add their own voices to the already-harmonious blend of the orchestra and BC Chorale.
Three-time Grammy-winning duo Dan + Shay then took the stage. The singers, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, each sported BC merch and a wide smile. Mooney, gesturing at his black BC crewneck, cracked a joke.
“It looks like I actually went to college,” Mooney said. “I did not go to college. But tonight, I feel like an honorary Boston College student.”
The pair started with their first number-one hit, “Nothin’ Like You.” From the first note, Mooney’s leading vocals shot across Conte Forum, twisting around riffs and striking high notes.
“Boston College, I ain’t never seen nothing like you,” Mooney crooned.
Leading up to their lovey-dovey, 2016 hit, “From the Ground Up,” Smyers invited couples to slow-dance on the floor. And sure enough, the song sent clusters of couples waltzing across Conte Forum.
Once the crowd was out of their chairs, many didn’t sit back down. Dan + Shay shimmied, laughed, and fist-pumped their way through their catalogue, and with every song, more and more audience members made their way up to the performers. By the end of the set, the duo was singing to a sizable crowd that lapped at the stage, reaching up for high fives and selfies.
Mooney made a foray into the crowd during “I Should Probably Go to Bed.” He weaved through the audience, shaking hands and emoting at viewers. When he had made his way back up to the stage, he cracked another joke.
“There was a guy out there, he said to me, ‘Hey, I run the school, and you can have a degree,’” Mooney said.
Dan + Shay rounded off their set with “Speechless,” then “Tequila,” both chart-topping numbers that the audience clapped and sang along to. But the climax of the setlist didn’t mark the end of the concert. The audience chanted for an encore, and Dan + Shay obliged, jiving through their gospel-like love song, “You.”
Dan + Shay concluded their set by thanking BC and the city of Boston at large for its support.
“We end our tours in Boston because Boston has the best country-music fans in the entire world,” Smyers said.
As Dan + Shay walked off, Boston Pops trumpeted out “For Boston.” The audience applauded, the Screaming Eagles dance team appeared with their sparkling pom-poms and staccato kick-lines, and then a maroon-and-gold shower of balloons marked the conclusion of a spectacular night.
