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Tonight: Steff Koeppen and the Articles at the MU

Steff Koeppen and the Articles will perform tonight at the Memorial Union for free. Photo courtesy River Jones.
Steff Koeppen and the Articles will perform tonight at the Memorial Union for free. Photo courtesy River Jones.

It’s Friday night. You’re either broke, under 21, or broke and under 21. So what’s a Sun Devil to do? Enter MU After Dark. As part of the Devils After Dark program, events are coordinated to keep life exciting and interesting when the sun sets on campus. From poetry slams to movie screenings and live music events, there’s plenty of fun to be had.

Tonight, head over to the MU north stage to hear the musical crooning of Tucson natives Steff Koeppen and the Articles. SPM caught up with the front-lady and band namesake before her show for a little one-on-one time.

Just 20 years old, Koeppen balances her time between work, school and her band. (She's a music sophomore over at that other Arizona college.) The pianist and vocalist started working with her current band mates just over a year ago to create an upbeat indie pop sound that utilizes jazzy drums, a steady bass line and dreamy violin strings combined with playful piano keystrokes.

In terms of influences, Koeppen (pronounced like “weapon,” in case you were wondering) says influence comes not from any one band in particular but an array of musical sounds.

“That’s always a super hard question … but whatever music I’m listening to in general,” she says. “Right now I’m into early jazz and swing and taking a music history class and learning about music through that.”

Originally performing simply under her name, she eventually put together the five-piece ensemble she has today and appropriately changed the band name to acknowledge the musicians playing with her. The Articles, she explains was coined by bassist Chris Pierce. “We had some article on the wall that we all hated … it was just a really silly article written about us and Chris just kinda yelled out one day, ‘We should just be Steff Koeppen and the Articles,’” she says. The name stuck.

The fledgling band just released their first album last year under local label, River Jones Music. Recorded entirely in Phoenix, Koeppen and the gang made the commute from Tucson on the weekends, so they are no strangers to our streets, however this show marks the first time they play at ASU.

If you have never seen them play live, Koeppen says you can look forward to some sweet dance moves by Pierce. She promises an energetic set Friday night.

“I enjoy playing live, because I think people get to experience music in a way that isn’t possible just listening to music online,” she says.

MU After Dark is free to attend every Friday. Music starts at 8 p.m. and events run weekly until 1 a.m.

Reach the reporter at jose.sandoval@asu.edu


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