At half past 11 p.m. Friday night, Penn State alumnus Eddie Nolan took the stage to sing and strum away the stress with his set of acoustic melodies.

Nolan graduated in 2016 with a degree in Biobehavioral Health, but he’s always enjoyed playing the guitar. While he was a student, he even volunteered at the Mount Nittany Medical Center when he had any free time.

During his freshman year of high school, Nolan picked up the guitar to simply let go and reduce stress. Soon after, he even began recording musical covers of his favorite artists in a studio near him.

“I really like Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, Ed Sheeran,” Nolan said. “I kind of try to take bits and pieces of each artist and put it together and I take that and just mash it and make it my own.”

Nolan did exactly that and he didn’t disappoint. Starting off with Matt Nathanson’s “Come On Get Higher,” Nolan brought THON’s attendees to a calming sway with his voice and acoustic guitar. He also sang Coldplay’s “Yellow” and Rob Thomas’ “Little Wonders.”

Nolan originally wasn’t into music. In high school, he considered himself to be more of a sports guy, but one day he randomly started playing for himself.

“It’s always been a good outlet if I’m ever stressed about school or anything really,” Nolan said. “I can just go to my room and play for a few hours if I want to or I can just play for even ten minutes and it’s awesome.”

Nolan finished his musical set with two sing-a-long classics – Train’s “Drops of Jupiter” and John Mayer’s “Say What You Need to Say.” Everyone sang along with him.