On December 11th, 2016 at the TD Garden, Jingleball—the famous winter concert hosted by radio station Kiss 108—rocked Boston, and Montrosians joined in. My favorite performer was the special guest appearance from Niall Horan, formerly of One Direction. Seeing him perform his solo song live for the first time was amazing. The crowd sang along with their flashlights on their iPhones and screamed his name for the three minutes he was on stage. The performing DJ, Diplo, fired up the crowd. Everyone jumped and danced with excitement throughout the night. At one point, one song inspired the entire crowd to throw their hands up. The 3.5-hour concert was full of dancing, screams, and tears of joy and laughter. Shawn Mendes, a most beloved performer at Jingleball, was the closing act of the night. When the host announced his name, everyone, especially the teenage girls, screamed extremely loudly. The night was magical!

This year’s lineup also included Daya, Ariana Grande, Tove lo, DNCE, Niall Horan, Alessia Cara, Diplo, and Ellie Goulding. In the past years, performers have included Hailee Steinfeld, Austin Mahone, Selena Gomez, Fifth Harmony, Icona Pop, and many more artists. Montrosians who attended the concert included Brooke Harrison ‘19, Mariel Rosati ‘19, Emma Dunnington ‘19, and many others. Mariel Rosati’s favorite part of the night was “being able to have fun with my friends and take a break from the schoolwork.” She added that it was “cool to see Niall perform solo.” Emma Dunnington’s favorite act was “Diplo [because] he was really energetic and had the whole crowd out of their seats and jumping/dancing.” Hopefully, we will see the dynamic DJ and hear more of his music again soon in another concert.

This year, I went to the concert with a group of my friends for my birthday.When we drove to the TD garden that night, I loved the pre-concert energy and the excitement in the air. Our seats were left of the stage, where the singers walked out of their dressing rooms—a perfect view. I could not wait to see my favorite artists, Shawn Mendes, Ariana Grande, and especially Niall Horan, perform in front of my eyes. The highlight of the night was dancing and jumping with my closest friends. My camera roll and Snapchat were overflowing with videos and pictures from the night, one of the best birthday experiences ever.