SAC announces X Ambassadors as spring concert headliner

X Ambassadors - comprised of, left to right, Adam Levin, Casey Harris and Sam Nelson Harris - will perform at Northwest on April 4 for the Student Activity Council's annual spring concert. (Submitted photo)

The Student Activities Council (SAC) at Northwest Missouri State University has announced X Ambassadors – a multi-platinum rock trio – will headline its annual spring concert.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. Friday, April 4, in the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse. Doors to the facility will open at 5:30 p.m.

Northwest student and employee tickets are $10 in advance or $15 on the day of the concert. Tickets for the public are $20 in advance or $25 on the day of the show. Tickets are available for purchase online at v1ic.ejly.net/getinvolved/sac/.

“We wanted to bring a different genre to Northwest this year, and we thought this band would give an exciting performance as well as perform some great music,” said SAC Co-Concert Director Ben Bueneman, a senior geography major from Lake St. Louis, Missouri. 

Brothers Sam Nelson Harris (vocals, guitar, saxophone, bass) and Casey Harris (piano, keys) formed X Ambassadors in 2009 while the pair were in high school in Ithaca, New York. They added drummer Adam Levin upon moving to Brooklyn, and the trio has since gone on to dominate alternative charts during the last decade.

The band exploded with the success of its debut album, “VHS,” in 2015. The platinum-certified album provides an intimate look into the childhood of the Harris brothers and features hit singles “Unsteady” and “Renegades,” which have more than 1.3 billion streams on Spotify combined and led the band to a three-year world tour. “VHS” was followed by “ORION” in 2019, “The Beautiful Liar” in 2021 and “Townie” in 2024.

Their 2023 song, “Deep End,” was written for and featured in the movie “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.” The track was the band’s latest contribution to a major film, adding to song placements in “Transformers,” “The Call of the Wild” and “Suicide Squad,” among others.

Outside of X Ambassadors, Sam Nelson Harris has begun releasing solo music and enjoys an eclectic career as a songwriter and producer for artists such as D4VD, 21 Savage, Rihanna, Lizzo, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, SZA and Maren Morris. He also has collaborated with artists including Eminem, Jay-Z, Jacob Banks, K.Flay, grandson, The Knocks, Kygo, Illenium and Machine Gun Kelly. Sam has played the world’s biggest music festivals, headlined countless nationwide and world tours, celebrated a No. 1 song on alternative radio and multiple songs in the Top 10.

“It is always such a fun event for students and community members alike, and it’s not very often that there is a concert of this size in Maryville and for the price,” Avery Baker, a senior applied health science major from Maryville, who serves as SAC’s co-concert director. “Additionally, this year we are bringing back the tailgate, which adds to the experience.”

SAC will host tailgate activities outside the Hughes Fieldhouse before the concert. Food trucks, including Kool Kats, Baker and Sons, and El Nopal will be available.

Northwest’s Student Activities Council plans and administers activities for students to contribute to a more well-rounded social, recreational and cultural life on the Northwest campus and its community. For more information about SAC and its programming, visit v1ic.ejly.net/getinvolved/sac/, call 660.562.1226 or send an email to sac@ejly.net.