Reilly rocked campus during night classes

As evening classes began on Sept. 23, McInnis auditorium was transformed into a concert venue.

A crowd of about 150 students and visitors turned out to hear rock band Reilly.

Classes normally held on the first and second floors of McInnis were moved to other buildings to accommodate the loud concert.

Assistant Director of Undergrad Admissions John Levis stepped up to the microphone and introduced The Color New, followed by Tim Be Told. Then the lights on the stage lit up for Reilly, and the audience went wild.

Reilly was founded in 2001 by band namesake John Reilly, a singer and songwriter, and Dan Huie, who plays the violin and electric guitar.

When they were booked for a show that required a full band, Reilly and Dan Huie asked some friends to join them.

Reilly now stands at five members strong: lead singer and guitarist Reilly; guitarist and violinist Dan Huie; violinist and keyboard player Noele Huie; bassist Matthew Bly; and the newest member, drummer Jordan Lenhoff.

As a Philadelphia-based band, Reilly knows many people from Eastern and surrounding colleges. When Dan Huie came over to talk to the Eastern booth at Creation, Levis was surprised.

“I could only think, ‘I’m talking to a Creation main-stage band,'” Levis said.

Reilly is special in more ways than one: It is perhaps the only Christian rock band that features not one, but two electric violins.

The Huies took center stage for violin duets and guitar-violin battles. The cheers got louder after every song, especially when the Huies called up two volunteers to compete in an air violin face-off.

“My favorite song was Reilly’s song ‘Sunlight,'” first-year Emily Samuelson said. “And I loved the Irish song (that Noele played). That was pretty cool too.”