A local singer from Hammond was the first to perform in this year’s series of scheduled Tunes @ Noon performances on both the Hammond and Westville campuses.

Eli Hernandez, 27 years old, sang and played acoustic guitar for an hour at the cafeteria of the Hammond campus on Sept. 29. His set list included popular songs of old and new such as “Billie Jean,” “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Stand By Me,” “Wonderwall,” “House of Gold” and “Breakeven.” A performance was scheduled earlier in the week at Westville, but it was cancelled.

Hernandez also writes original content, which is published on an album available for purchase called “A Moment in Your Heart.” The profits from his album, along with tips and part of his performance pay, goes to an organization he runs called My Favorite Superhero, which helps raise funds for pediatric therapy.

“When I write, it’s about a thing I go through. I try for my music to be positive but also convey emotion,” Hernandez said. “I want them to be able to feel what I felt.”

Hernandez says he doesn’t have many musical interests since he was not allowed to listen to music growing up. As he grew older and finally started listening to music, he found inspiration in artists such as Cat Stevens and John Mayer. Hernandez said he found the positive audience feedback at PNW encouraging.

“I was excited to be able to play for people my own age and more modern music instead of just having to play old school music like at previous performances of mine,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said he would love to come back to PNW to play again. The students that were at Hernandez’s performance sang along to Hernandez’s renditions of popular songs and showed enthusiasm for his performance.

Ivan Nunez, freshman social studies and secondary education major, said he enjoyed the event because he’s always looking for something to do on campus.

“It’s really nice coming back from my classes to listen to and just relax. I prefer live music rather than music on my phone too,” Nunez said. “I would definitely come again if I have the time.”

Cody Dallas, student life coordinator, said the first Tunes @ Noon performance of the year was a success, especially since it was at noon.

“I think that’s a good time to have it because the cafeteria is packed and the students seemed to enjoy it.”

Dallas said the series was created to show PNW’s appreciation for the arts and provide more opportunities for students.

“I know there’s a lot of students around with musical talent. We want to showcase students, but if we don’t have any students interested, we’ll reach out to someone local,” Dallas said.

Currently, the Tunes @ Noon performances are scheduled sporadically once a month at each campus. Dallas noted that if future Tunes @ Noon performances have positive audience reaction, they may expand the series to twice a month or schedule artists for two hours.

“We’re just happy it went as well as it did,” Dallas said.

Students that want to be a scheduled performer for Tunes @ Noon are encouraged to contact Dallas.