by Camryn Given | May 7, 2021 | Arts and Entertainment, COVID-19, News Slider
When we look at industries that were hit the hardest in 2020, live music can be found at the top of the list. The music industry, and more specifically the live music industry, was stopped in its tracks last year once COVID revealed itself as a global epidemic. All of a sudden there were no more upcoming concerts, tickets were refunded, and tours were canceled. Now, as roughly ⅓ of Americans are now fully vaccinated, steps are being taken towards normalcy. But what do those steps look like for live music? According to visitmusiccity.com, concerts are back with precautions in place. For example, there are no dance floors open and there can’t be more than 2 performers on stage at a time. This year Nashville is already set to host several big-name artists, from James Taylor to Justin Bieber. There are plenty of upcoming concerts announced in venues like the Ryman and Bridgestone, but what about the small independent concert spaces? The pandemic has put a very large financial strain on many of them. In response to this, several independent venues formed the Music Venue Alliance last fall to support the live music industry and raise awareness of the challenges it faces. The Exit In was almost permanently closed until fans pulled through with donations recently. Now, since restrictions are loosening many are jumping at the chance to hold events. As of now, The Basement East is one of the smaller venues offering full capacity shows. About a week ago Governor Lee announced, “It’s time for celebrations, weddings and conventions and concerts and parades and proms and everything in...
by Micah Kennedy | May 6, 2021 | News Slider, Sports, Uncategorized
Fans of the Lipscomb softball team were treated to a nail-biter Wednesday after three late-game runs secured a 3-2 victory for the team over Tennessee State. This was the team’s first game back since April 20 due to a recent team quarantine, which led to questions about if the team would come out slow. That was soon answered after the early innings of the game. The Lady Bisons weren’t able to create offense early and trailed 2-0 through five innings. The Lady Tigers two runs came in the third inning after junior shortstop Lauren Farias scored on an error, and sophomore outfielder Analeigh Coursey scored by way of a sac fly. The offensive drought came to an end in the sixth inning when sophomore outfielder Presley Leebrick led off the inning with a solo homer to right field. That burst of offense set up what would be an eventful final inning. Breanna Burke pitched a strong final inning, not allowing any hits and striking out two batters in the process. The bottom half of the inning started with a double to centerfield from senior infielder Jenna Endris. Following that, sophomore infielder Kelly Paulson, entered the game as a pinch-runner. Paulson advanced to third off a sac bunt from junior outfielder Jessie Brown. Paulson then scored from a single to right center by junior outfielder Abby Davis. Following the hit, Davis stole second base. This all set up a walk-off ground single batted by junior infielder Amy Vetula. The win boosted the team to a winning record, finishing the regular season at 17-16. The Lady Bisons will hit the road for the first round of the ASUN tournament facing the Liberty Flames. The first...
by Riley Hoag | May 5, 2021 | News Slider, Opinion, Student Spotlight
During my time at Lipscomb, I was a student in the IDEAL Program. When I began my first year moving into the dorms, I didn’t know anyone who was a student or who was in the program. I was excited about finally being able to get a real college experience and making new friends after moving from another state. My experience during Quest Week didn’t exactly go as I wanted it to be. It was hard being able to make friends with the freshmen who were already younger than I was. When I started classes I was able to meet new people and get to know them. One day in class we were talking about photography and after the class one of my classmates took me to meet the Lumination editor-in-chief. I had expressed interest in taking pictures for Lumination Network. I started getting assigned sporting events to take photos for. I had started making a few friends and then IDEAL assigned peer mentors for the IDEAL students. Two of my mentors happened to be on the women’s soccer team and I had no clue until one night I was taking photos for one of their games. Riley with Lumination Network editor-in-chief Mckenzi Harris Riley with her IDEAL peer mentors from the Lady Bisons soccer team I started becoming good friends with my mentors, players on sports teams, and students in my classes. Most of my favorite memories are with my friends on the soccer team because we...
by Micah Kennedy | May 4, 2021 | News, News Slider
The upcoming class of future Bisons now have the option of attending their Lipscomb orientations in person. The decision to resume in-person orientation came from university officials after carefully considering the trends in positive COVID cases and the increasing number of vaccinated members in the Lipscomb community. “Pandemic or not, the New Student Orientation program is committed to providing a holistic onboarding experience to our new students and their families,” said Megan Johnson, assistant director of student wellbeing. In addition to orientation sessions, QuestWeek will resume in-person experiences as well. This announcement has not changed the focus and aim of those who work to make the summer programs possible. “While the delivery method and some particular events had to be adjusted, the important content that we covered last year remains just as vital to the student experience this upcoming year,” said Johnson. New students and their parents, regardless of which NSO session they attend, will have the opportunity to learn about academic expectations, student involvement opportunities and begin creating connections with their peers and professors. Though there will be in-person sessions offered, a virtual orientation will be offered on June 25. The option seeks to accommodate students and parents who are not yet comfortable with the legal gathering sizes or are unable to be physically present. This flexibility is something that Johnson said she believes works in favor of students’ preferences as things return to “normal” a year after COVID severely altered summer orientation activities. “We believe that a virtual option caters to a group of students who feels more comfortable engaging with new people through a chat feature rather than in-person large group settings,” Johnson said. “We will help these students...
by Abigail Davis | May 3, 2021 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
The formerly pre-pubescent boy known for crooning in his falsetto and making 14-year-old girls swoon, proves in his new album Justice that growing up in the spotlight is not always as glamorous as it seems. Justin Bieber shares as much in his hit “Lonely” that detailed the dark place he inhabited as a result of his young fame. However, the so-called “Beliebers” — fans who have been with him throughout his entire career — have recently seen him become a believer himself: In God and true love. Faith and marriage have become his new brand and are reflected in his newest album, titled Justice, with song lyrics that suggest remorse for his actions and thankfulness for forgiveness. Throughout his new music, he credits his wife, formerly Hailey Baldwin, and God for giving him a new perspective and second chance. His once booming music career seems to be revived amid these dramatic life changes. Though, along with success he has also met more controversy. Some have criticized his “inauthentic” references to social injustice within his album. “Rolling Stone” even referred to his use of Martin Luther King Jr., speech samples on his album as “a jarring musical misstep”. In response to these criticisms Bieber responded: “I’m not trying to make a connection between me and Martin Luther King. That’s why I never try to talk about social injustice, or I didn’t want to be the one to talk about it. “I just have so much more learning to do. But I have this man who was ready to die, and what he believed to be true. If I’m not willing...
by Erika Plunkett | May 3, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
After a rocky start to the weekend, Bison Baseball closed out their series against North Alabama with a strong 14-5 victory. The series kicked off Friday afternoon with the Lions’ making early progress as Bison pitcher junior Max Habegger allowed four runs in his inning and two thirds of work. Meanwhile, offensively the Bisons could not get anything going, until the Lions had already extended their lead to five. Finally, in the fifth inning junior center fielder Maddux Houghton brought home a run with an RBI-triple and scored off of a wild pitch bringing the Bisons back within striking distance. Senior infielder David Graves added to the Bisons score with a home run in the bottom of the sixth, but a North Alabama insurance run in the seventh and four runners left stranded by the Bisons clinched the game one victory for North Alabama, 6-3. Saturday, the Bisons looked to bounce back and were able to take the early advantage with sophomore infielder Robbie Merced’s run brought home by freshman outfielder Tiger Borom. North Alabama evened the game at 1 in the fifth inning before Houghton added to his RBI total and Merced scored another run. The Lions would not stay at bay, however, and once again the game was tied. Lipscomb thought they had the winning run in the bottom of the sixth when sophomore catcher Chaz Bertolani hit an RBI single, but the back and forth trend continued, and the game was tied at 3. Sophomore closer Tyler Guilfoil, who came in during the fifth inning, was tasked with finishing the game for the Bisons, but struggled...
