This year, Relay for Life did not disappoint. The decorations were on point, the team tables were inspiring, the food was delicious and the entertainment was better than ever.

The kickstart into the entertainment was Disney karaoke, where some of the Evergreens and others showed off their Disney movie song lyric skills, because, who doesn’t love Disney songs?

Next up was Dance Company’s performance in Reitz with two groups within Dance Company performing. The first dance was jazz gone hip-hop, and the second group filled the stage with pirouettes and high jumps, while wearing sparkly shirts. Then, the girls took a rest while two male dancers took the stage alone, which was a crowd favorite.

We took a break from the dancing to hear the Chimes, Belles and then Greysounds perform. First up was the all-male musical group, the Chimes. They sang a combination of “The Joker” and Shaggy’s “Angel,” along with background vocals and beat boxing and harmonies to support the lead soloist. They also sang “Hey Mary Lou.” I always look forward to hearing what they will put together, and their talent was clear throughout the performance.

The all-female a cappella group, the Belles, sang following an emotional set of speeches from people who have experienced cancer personally, or have a close friend or family member who has or had cancer. The speeches were given, everyone lit their lights, and a silent lap was taken around the track. After the silent lap, the Belles started singing deeply touching songs such as “Fight Song.” Their performance was definitely emotional, but their vocals were beautiful.

Loyola’s co-ed singing group, the Greysounds, took the stage, and sang remixes of “All About that Bass” and “Riptide.” Although most of their songs were led by a soloist, they sang as a group as well, and the conductor introduced their last song by saying, “Our last song is going to be upbeat, so sing along.” Everyone went crazy when the song was a Disney favorite, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

Gospel Choir was up next, and it started with an intense praise to God, and followed with both upbeat and somber music. The group was filled with a mix of male and female singers who were all passionate and energetic.

At 10 p.m., SGA announced the Loyolapalooza acts. They will include the winner of this year’s Battle of the Bands, along with Parachute, X Ambassadors and Radical Something. Everyone had mixed reactions, but were, overall, excited to have four acts this year, making for a festival vibe.

Brandon Newby, with his band GWB.com, followed the Gospel Choir. He came onstage in a banana suit, and completely rocked it, before taking the suit off and performing shirtless. The hard-core instrumentals combined with his passionate singing got the crowd on their feet throughout the entire performance. It was definitely more extreme than the other performances, but equally as excellent.

Next up was my favorite, the Dance Team. They danced to “Anaconda” along with a Britney Spears remix, and completely killed it. All of their moves were in sync, and left us all wanting more.

The last entertainment of the night was the Nevergreens, who performed close to midnight. They did hilarious sketches on being anti-social and making fun of those who enjoy human interaction, a mocking of Buzzfeed journalism and a sketch making fun of people on YouTube (just to name a few). It was a great act to get everyone’s energy up to stay awake for the final few hours.

Overall, the entertainment at Relay was spectacular, and I cannot wait to see what next year brings. Everyone’s talent and passion came through, and the enormous amount of support provided by the Loyola community was inspiring.

Image courtesy of: The Greyhound / Jake Rauscher