Kurt Vonnegut, 1986
OK, this one’s only tangentially music-related, but besides speaking at Big Bridges, Slaughterhouse-Five author Kurt Vonnegut has an unusual Pomona connection. In 1997 he was incorrectly attributed to be the author of one of the first pieces of viral content: a commencement speech sometimes referred to as “Wear Sunscreen,” which later became the “lyrics” of a top-40 hit released by Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann. The actual author? Mary Schmich ’75, who wrote its words for a Chicago Tribune column, and later turned it into a book.
No Doubt, 1990
2015 photo of Gwen Stefani by Lorie Shaull
Gwen Stefani’s ska-punk band played at least five shows at Pomona in their early gigging along the Southern California concert circuit, including a May 1990 show that pre-dated their signing with Interscope Records. Three decades later, the group has released six studio albums that sold 33 million copies globally, while Stefani became a popular solo artist (and voice judge) worth an estimated $160 million. ’90s alums, relive the glory with this fan-captured video from 1994.
Rage Against the Machine, 1992
When Mike Lin ’94 paid the newly formed four-piece rap-metal outfit $325 to play Harwood Courtyard, they hadn’t even released their debut album yet. Lin remembers lead singer Zack de la Rocha eagerly passing out cassette tapes beforehand, as well as receiving a thoughtful “thank you” note from guitarist Tom Morello afterward. They’ve since sold 16 million records and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Bright Eyes, 2000
Indie band Bright Eyes playing Walker Lounge in 2000
When the campus radio station KSPC brought Conor Oberst and his Omaha indie-rock outfit to play a show in one of the Smith Campus Center’s social rooms, station advisor Erica Tyron said that she paid them $800 in cash. Just a few years later, the Associated Students of Pomona College tried to bring them back, but opted against after learning that their booking cost had ballooned to $50,000.
The White Stripes, 2001
Jack and Meg White—the mysterious red-and-white-adorned garage-rock duo who eventually filled stadiums with arena classics like “Seven Nation Army”—hadn’t yet exploded on the indie scene when they performed that spring on Walker Beach. KSPC still has the original flyer from that fateful concert in their office in Thatcher Music Building.
Taylor Swift, 2012
Touring behind her fourth album Red, Swift launched an online voting competition promising to perform at the college that got the most votes proportional to their size—spurring some crafty Harvey Mudd kids to organize on social media to get Claremont Colleges students to vote for Swift to come to the smallest of the 5Cs (though she ultimately performed at Big Bridges). For the record, Mudd’s student body president claimed that they didn’t engage in any “illegitimate activity” like bot voting. We plead the fifth!