On Jan. 28 at noon in the Redwood Room in the University Union, students, staff, faculty and the public experienced a touch of reggae, hip-hop and “alien soul” from Brian Chris Rogers, 31, a multi-talented musician selected by UNIQUE to ring in the new semester.

Rogers opened the show with his song “Third Avenue,” a nostalgic piece about waiting for an old girlfriend in college.

Along with his vocals and ability to play many different instruments, Rogers snuck in quite a few laughs from the audience with his witty jokes and comments about his hair, his scarf and his own college experience.

Each song has an interesting background and story behind it such as “Gloria,” a piece about appreciating the present, written for a performance Rogers almost had to give at a funeral.

He also touched on other genres such as hip-hop, a favorite of his, with his song “C’mon Baby Let’s Fly,” which had the audience tapping their feet and nodding their heads to the beat.

The audience was able to catch a glimpse into “alien soul,” a genre created by Rogers, that has not been eclipsed by the popular genres of pop, rock and hip-hop on the radio today.

This new genre was put together from Rogers’s decades of experience performing with other bands and musicians such as The Nibblers, Random Abiladeze, The Toyes and The Coalition.

Before going solo, Rogers built his skills by being the lead vocalist, bassist or drummer for these bands.

Justine Johnson, a volunteer for UNIQUE, said Rogers was chosen through their website, which features many up-and-coming artists in Sacramento. They found his genre to be “different and most appealing.”

Every week the club gets together, listens to samples of these artists and then make a group decision to choose the performer.

Portia Harris, another UNIQUE volunteer, said when it comes to choosing artists they, “do not discriminate.”

She said they do their best to expose the school to as many different cultures and attract as many different people as possible.

The club wishes to continue to help positively impact the school in as many different ways as possible.