Spring Weekend was kicked off with Bandfest Friday, April 12, but the big events came on stage Saturday night with a star line up of bands. The performances were free to all students. The stage, including soundboards and equipment, was set up behind the Lankford Student Union under a tent in case of rain, which had been a fear of all students.
First there was DJ Big Bad Ben, who brought loads of energy to stage with his mixes and soundboards. Ben does mostly college and school bookings. He has played at UNC Chapel Hill, St. Elmo Hall, Louisiana State University as well as other clubs and venues. DJ Big Bad Ben was able to skillfully mix today’s favorites with some oldies and make it work for the songs. Although it wasn’t very crowded, those that attended were lively and pumped and the DJ made it fun for them.
Kazual was a different type of boy band for the century in a capella form. The band did covers of many of the beloved movies from the 1990s, including songs from ‘NSync and the Backstreet Boys. The four were definitely favored by the crowd by the amount of people singing along and those attending their stage-time.
Rock came to the stage with The Trillions, a group of four who will tell you their sound is a mix of Pop instrumentation with rock volume but with lyrics more common to classical and romantic music. The band was so thrilled by their performance at Longwood that they tweeted and posted about their experience on their websites.
The Flannel Junkies, a relatively lesser known band, made their own fans, though, aside from their alternative rock style music. The wife of one of the singers is a Zeta Tau Alpha alumnus from Longwood, and he made a shout out to the Zetas in the crowd – add on about 100 new fans to their Facebook site.
Longwood’s country side was able to come out as The Cedar Creek Band from Richmond stepped up on stage. The group has previously performed with top country artists such as Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, Randy Travis, Terri Clark, Gary Allan and Patty Loveless. The group did covers of songs for their time on stage and also gave a shout-out to Longwood University on their blog site.
Second to last was R&B Grammy nominee, Bobby Valentino, the artist it seemed most of the students were most looking forward to.
“He was really great, he got the crowd involved,” said Sara Burkett, freshman. “I loved how he told us to stay in school; he was really charming, and the energy, in general, was awesome for all age groups.”
Students and professors were both able to enjoy Valentino’s concert, it seemed, as they were all present for his time on stage.
“[Bobby Valentino] was pretty good; [the concert] was very lively. He didn’t have to take off his shirt, though,” said Chris Carter, junior.
What they will call a mix of Zeppelin and Sabbath, State Radio’s rock sound took the stage as the final band of the night. The trio in the band blew away fans and listeners with their unrefined sound. The band has numerous singles and several albums that were available for purchase. State Radio got everyone on their feet, and the band closed Spring Weekend with a big bang.
Students were able to sit on the grass and concrete surrounding the tent, and, after the performances, some were even able to get pictures and autographs. The night was a huge success for the school, and the audiences who were able to enjoy the music in an exciting environment.
