When A Boogie Wit da Hoodie was announced as the homecoming concert artist, junior Kaleb Beek didn’t hesitate to sign up Poster Child, his all-student band, to compete for the student opener position.

“I’m a massive Boogie fan. I grew up on his music,” Beek said. “When it came out that it was A Boogie, I stopped what I was doing and submitted the application right then and there.”

Poster Child’s genre is a mix of R&B and hip-hop and is made up of Beek on vocals, Isabella Heck on bass guitar, Natacha Chacin on keys and vocals, Ethan Bowden on guitar, and Mateo Gaviria on drums.

“Poster Child came together when I noticed that there was a lack of hip-hop and R&B presence on campus,” explained Beek. “I wanted that opportunity to take this rich genre of music that I love and share it with a bunch of people.”

Poster Child was selected to be the student opener by University students at Battle of the Bands, an event hosted by Hurricane Productions’ Concerts and Patio Jams committees that invited seven student bands to compete for the opportunity.

Tatiana Calzadilla, a second-year student who predominantly sings country music, noted that Battle of the Bands was unique in bringing artists from a range of different genres.

“It’s so great to just have your peers and your friends choose who they want,” said Calzadilla. “It’s just a moment to show everything that you dream of and have your dreams go on a bigger stage.”

Violet Beller is a junior and vocalist for the student band rug, which performs a blend of psychedelic and folk music.

“I think it’s fun because it gives artists that would never usually open for A Boogie a really unique opportunity,” Beller said. “It’s exciting that we have a chance to do that.”

Getting to know Poster Child

Heck joined Poster Child last year after seeing the band perform at a forum hosted by the Modern Artist Development and Entrepreneurship (MADE) program. Beyond the thrill of opening for a major artist, she emphasized the professional development aspects of the opportunity.

“I think it’s a cool opportunity and good experience too, not even just because it’s A Boogie and that’s really cool, but also the experience of being an opener and doing a real show, a real production as a band, dealing with sound checks and all the technical stuff behind it. It’s going to be a cool experience,” said Heck.

What sets Poster Child apart from typical hip-hop acts is their commitment to performing with live instruments rather than with just digital production.

“Something just interesting about Poster Child in general, and the reason why I found it particularly interesting is that when we play live, it’s a very hip-hop, upbeat type of feel, but it’s all live instrumentation, which you don’t really see much these days,” said Bowden, a junior. “So having a live band play with hip-hop is just, I think, something kind of special.”

The members of Poster Child are all students at the Frost School of Music who intend to pursue careers in the music industry.

“Writing music and performing music is something I could have only dreamed of before,” said Beek, a student pursuing a Bachelor of Music in MADE “I’m writing a song a day, and I have a performance every week, and it’s wonderful. And honestly, it’s really opened my eyes to how much I love songwriting, and that’s really my main passion where this is concerned.”

Heck, a sophomore studying music engineering, emphasized the educational experiences she’s had while at the Frost School.

“Frost really opened my eyes to the different parts of the industry because you see all the different majors, all the different interests, and all the possibilities of career paths, which I thought was really cool,” said Heck.

Poster Child’s performance at the homecoming concert will be particularly special to them as they will be debuting their first single, “Miss Fortune,” which will be released soon after their performance.

Open to all University students, the 2025 Homecoming Concert featuring Poster Child and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at the Watsco Center. Find ticket information on the Hurricane Productions’ concerts Instagram page, @hp_concerts. 

Explore the full calendar of 2025 Alumni Weekend and Homecoming events for students and alumni.