The USC community officially capped off the first week of welcome week with the beloved Welcome Back Concert. The annual event, put on by the USC Concerts Committee, took over McCarthy Quad starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, when the gates opened and students flooded in.

As concertgoers waited for the first act to begin, they had a chance to explore the other attractions available, such as concert ticket giveaways, the Postmates “snack bar” and a wide variety of food trucks.

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“I’m looking forward to the concerts, the events, the food [and] the Trojan spirit. It’s undeniable here at USC,” said Enasio Alston Jr., a freshman majoring in legal studies. “USC has a culture like no other school, especially here. The Trojan way of life is a real thing here. You need to enjoy it. Live it up, because every single day is a great day to be alive, and we need to appreciate that here on USC campus.”

At 7 p.m., the music kicked off with Ethan Hoffman, a junior majoring in business administration and a singer-songwriter with more than 70,000 TikTok followers. Hoffman played nearly an hour of original music and popular covers. He particularly caught the audience’s attention when he performed Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season,” drumming up excitement for the rest of the night.

“Ethan was great. He had some good songs. I liked the last one, ‘Thank You,’” said Emaan Heidari, a sophomore majoring in computer engineering and computer science.

Between performances, the LED screen swapped from playing graphics and promos to the first of two Kahoot games for the night, which quizzed attendees on USC trivia. DJ Day$, a junior majoring in public relations and advertising, took to the stage next, walking on to an edit of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” (2011). He played a mix of songs and made sure everyone knew it was still brat summer, playing “365” by Charli XCX twice.

DJ Day$ concluded his energetic set with Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.” After he left the stage, the Concerts Committee brought up two audience members to play a game of Mario Kart. When the race concluded, the playlist jumped into the songs of the summer with Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!,” Charli XCX’s “Apple” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.”

Kaylee Hou, a sophomore majoring in computer engineering and computer science, was most looking forward to seeing the next artist: “I’m so excited to see Maude Latour … I am excited for her to play ‘One More Weekend.’”

Maude Latour ran on stage, opening her set with “I am not the sun.” Her set included hits such as “Too Slow” and “Cyclone.” As her set drew to a close, the young artist addressed the audience.

“I got deferred from USC and yet, I say, ‘Go Trojans, fight on baby!’ I have one more song; you need to dance with me; you have to.” Latour said. “I wrote this song when I was in college. College goes by so fast, you know? It’s not just about what you learn in class, it’s about moments like this, it’s about everything in between. Drop a class, just take it all in, go slow.”

Maude Latour concluded her set with crowd favorite “One More Weekend,” just as Hou had hoped she would.

After much anticipation, the evening’s headliner, Duckwrth, took to the stage playing “007.” With high energy and a lot of dancing, he worked his way through a 13-song set, including “Feel the Feels” and “Kiss U Right Now.” The night ended with a bang as Duckwrth played “Pitbull,” a song from his upcoming album.

“Welcome Back is just one of the best parts of being a USC student,” said Diana Carpio, a junior majoring in cognitive science. “It’s great to see new freshmen come out and get excited … It’s a great way to go meet new people too, and see what the USC culture is all about.”