When the Students Advocating for Peace in the Sudan first decided to coordinate a concert to raise money for Doctors Without Borders and to increase student awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur, they didn’t envision a turnout as large as the one that attended last Friday’s Jam for Sudan at the ’Sco.

“We knew that we wanted to do a fundraiser, and music is something that this school has that is a great asset,” said first-year Sara Skvirsky. “It ended up being ginormously successful.”

The event drew a crowd of approximately 400 people, raising an impressive total of $1,123.85. In addition, the group sold a number of T-shirts raising awareness of the genocide, bringing the total number sold over the past few months to about 100.

Much to the benefit of the group, the concert itself, aside from the activism that permeated the evening, appealed to a broad population of music-lovers interested in seeing a variety of genres. Once at the ’Sco, however, students who were not already informed about the genocide or politically motivated were exposed to postcards, T-shirts, and signs condemning the conflict. Furthermore, members of SAPS intermittently spoke, albeit briefly, between sets, urging students to sign postcards, buy T-shirts, and contact their representatives about the genocide.

“I definitely think people are more conscious of [the genocide],” said first-year Kehan DeSousa, “and I think that they will be more responsive to tabling in the future.”

The success of the Jam for Sudan was largely due to the quality and variety of bands that performed. The diversity of sounds, the gradually increasing volume and danceability of the bands as the evening progressed and the interspersing of newer, lesser-known bands with campus favorites caused students to stick around.

Spaceman Spiff, a jazz ensemble, opened the show, proving themselves to be stylistically versatile as they eased comfortably from dense, suave contemporary jazz into Dixieland and back.

Round Midnight, a new a cappella group, performed clean vocal arrangements with an appropriate amount of pizzazz on upbeat numbers and somber simplicity on slower ones.

Folk-singer Andrew Crosby’s gravel-voice and understated showmanship provided a respite before the highly-danceable bluegrass of the People’s Republic of Gefiltestan, a band that deftly blurred the lines between bluegrass and klezmer, and bluegrass and art-rock with their cover of “Psycho Killer.” The Funk Band and the Bucketkickers offered familiar songs and reliable musicianship, and indie rock group the Little Old Ladies closed the evening.