Tuesday, Feb. 12, marked the first UMass Boston Night at the Harp and Bard in Dorchester. The bar offered pizza for $6 and discounts on drinks to UMass Boston students with ID. UMass Boston hockey player Steve Weston played guitar with his band, Rich People Food.

Dozens of students filled the Irish bar, including several members of the men’s hockey team and many members of other sports teams at UMass Boston. A large contingent of members of the Undergraduate Student Government attended, including Student Body President Jesse Wright and his executive cabinet.

Wright explained how UMass Boston night came to be. “I’ve spent quite a bit of time at the Harp and Bard, and I got to know the owners there,” he told The Mass Media. “One of the things that I talked to them about, and one of the things that they brought up was, ‘How can we get more UMass Boston students in here?’”

Wright proposed a “college night” for UMass Boston students, like the theme nights held by bars located near Northeastern, Boston University, and other local schools. “They jumped at the idea,” he said. “They really really liked it.”

Next, the owners asked Wright if he had any ideas about entertainment. He’d heard about a member of the hockey team that was in a band, so he tracked down Steve Weston and asked if he was interested in playing for his fellow students. He was.

Despite the fact that Wright proposed the event and found the entertainment, he does not want to be seen as the driving force behind UMass Boston Night. “It’s the Harp and Bard,” he said, adding “I’m not an organizer for this, or an agent for this, or anything at all. I just happen to be a UMass Boston student who hangs out at the Harp a lot and wanted to see more students have that opportunity.”

Wright emphasized the importance of a night to “meet and hang out,” creating a sense of community at the university. “It allows our students to network and be engaged outside of school,” he said. 

Wright was also grateful to the bar’s owners for reaching out to UMass Boston students by lowered prices. Many students usually meet in cheaper neighborhood bars, but with the specials available on UMass Boston Night, he felt these people could “enjoy themselves in a nicer environment.”

Both Wright and the members of Rich People Food felt that the night was a success. In an email, the band wrote, “We had a lot of fun playing and hanging out with the UMass students … Tuesday night was a blast, and we can’t wait to play again. The crowd was so much fun.”

Wright believes that UMass Boston night will soon become a weekly event at the Harp. A meeting is scheduled in the near future to iron out the details.

Rich People Food will return to future UMass Boston Nights, and the owner of the bar is also looking for other UMass Boston performers.

“All the decision-making is left to the owners of the Harp and Bard,” Wright said, encouraging students interested in performing to submit samples of their music to the venue.