This story originally appeared in The Vantage student newspaper, Nov. 2, 2023.
By Katrina Kowitz, guest writer for The Vantage
Freshman Hunter Lough is studying to become a pediatrician. But he’d also really like a career in music.
Lough, from Wellington, is known in Carocci Hall as a talented musician on the rise after he put on a mini concert earlier this year in the dorm lobby. Many students stopped to watch as he played his guitar and sang songs like “Something in the Orange” by Zach Bryan.
“I love music,” Lough said. “I don’t think there’s anything that could hold me back from that.”
Lough not only has written a song, called “Figure You Out,” but he also has performed all over the country at places such as Bad Brad’s in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Bluebird Cafe in Nashville and Tacky Jacks in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and in local places such as Pumphouse and Local Flavor. He’s also performed at the Kansas Wheat Festival and at the Conway Springs Fall Festival.
Lough said he came to Newman to run cross-country and wants to go into medicine. But music is his passion.
He said he was inspired to play music by his younger brother, who is blind in one eye and plays the piano. Lough said he was impressed by his brother’s talent, and that made him want to learn to play even more. Now, Lough said, he and his brother love to make music together.
Lough started out playing the bass guitar and the acoustic guitar and now can play 11 instruments. His dorm room at Newman is stuffed with instruments, including a violin, two electric guitars, a bass guitar, three acoustic guitars, a keyboard, a trumpet, a ukulele and a few microphones.
“I write music all the time, “Lough said. “I probably have an album’s worth of music.”
He recently had the idea to write “Figure You Out,” which is a breakup song, even though he hasn’t recently gone through a breakup. Lough said he is excited to release the new song and share it with the world.
Sophomore Amaya Perez is one of the people who saw Lough play in the Carrocci lobby and even requested a song.
“I think Hunter is going to have an amazing career as a musician,” Perez said. “I am a huge fan of Hunter already.”
Lough said that he and his producers are aiming to get his new song out on Nov. 26. It will be available on streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
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