“My whole life is a creative process,” Nate Mercereau said.
On March 8, Mercereau, composer, producer and guitarist, performed at Walker Beach for the first event in the 5C Musician’s Coalition’s (MuCo) Spring 2025 concert series. Mercereau used an exploratory blend of jazz and natural soundscapes, experimenting and improvising as he performed. He was joined by saxophonist Aaron Shaw and percussionist Carlos Niño, recent collaborators who share his experimental approach to music.
Together, they integrated nature’s sounds with music, captivating the audience on the Walker Beach grass. The performance flowed from one moment to the next, with no distinct breaks between songs. Some listeners watched intensely, some shut their eyes and others laid back to gaze at the sky.
“It was one long song, which I really enjoyed,” audience member Eli Jobrack Lundy CM ’27 said. “I’ve never experienced anything like this.”
Mercereau, Shaw and Niño played an eccentric assortment of instruments, including flute, saxophone, windchimes and guitar. Mercereau’s guitar wasn’t just an instrument — it was a tool for capturing the surrounding environment. Throughout the performance, he sampled and replayed the group’s sounds on the spot, creating a layered musical experience.
“So you might have heard [Shaw’s] flute or [Niño’s] percussion happening when they weren’t playing,” Mercereau explained. “It’s because I had sampled it and played it with the guitar. So it kind of creates a world within the world and that process can go anywhere … [This process] creates a lot of opportunity for unexpected things to happen.”
“Art is definitely a huge reflection of life,” Shaw said.
The performance wasn’t solely focused on sound, it was about improvisation and discovery.
“[Exploration] is kind of why we’re here today,” Mercereau said. “Playing here with all of you … was a process of discovery for me too.”
The natural world is a fundamental part of how Mercereau makes music and interprets the world.
“It’s kind of all one thing, you know,” he said. “This is nature too. All of us. We’re not separate from nature … So I just consider it all the time.”
Collaboration was also central to the performance, Shaw described, beyond just the sampling and improvisation processes.
“Art is definitely a huge reflection of life,” Shaw said. “With music, I think after a while, I can get pretty bored by myself … The collaboration process is key in those moments.”
MuCo, the organization behind the event, seeks to unite and empower musicians at the 5Cs and further the live music scene on campus, according to their Engage page. The Pomona Student Union also supported MuCo in organizing the concert.
“We essentially provide a service for musicians to practice, to collaborate, to come together,” René Garcia III PO ’27 said. “We try to really foster the musical creativity on campus.”
Garcia, who organized Mercereau’s visit, recently took over MuCo’s leadership and spent three and a half months working to make this concert happen. He hopes to bring more artists to perform at the 5Cs and encourages students interested in music to join him.
“We’re looking for people to get involved with the musician’s coalition, even if you’re not a musician, you don’t play music, but you’re really passionate about bringing music to campus and music opportunities,” Garcia said.
He sees MuCo’s immense potential and wants to push the organization beyond what it currently is by taking advantage of its proximity to the diverse Los Angeles music scene.
“We’re so lucky to have access to Los Angeles,” Garcia said. “There could not be a more rich and more interesting space to explore.”
Mercereau’s concert exemplified the spirit of MuCo’s mission, providing an opportunity for listeners and performers to engage with music in a way that went beyond traditional performances. As the performers played their final notes, the audience lingered, reluctant to break the spell they had been under.
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