Music Maker Productions, Campus Activities Board and Student Association members have been searching for talented artists and bands since the end of the fall semester to play at Mississippi State’s annual Old Main Music Festival. They finally decided on two opening acts and a main artist.
New Orleans native soul and funk band E. Company and Barbados born, singer-songwriter Shontelle may seem like two opposite ends of the musical spectrum, but they will unite to open Old Main Music Festival. They are opening for Robert Randolph and the Family Band, also a funk and soul music group, Saturday, April 9, in Mississippi State’s amphitheatre.
E. Company is a band of combined sounds and musical styles ranging from rock to hip-hop.
Bryant Henley,  freshman international business major who saw the band live just a few weeks ago, said, “They were incredible. They are a very solid, talented band.”
The band members consist of Joe Shirley on keyboard and vocals, Chris Walker Lippincott on guitar, Matt Gooden on the saxophone, Trey Boudreaux on bass and Dave Shirley on the drums and vocals. Their songs “Turn it on” and “Dance!” are just a few of the many original groove songs that are upbeat and have a jazzy, New Orleans sound.
In a different genre of music, R&B/Pop singer Shontelle is a talented singer whose first single, “T-shirt” hit No.36 on Billboard’s Top 100 and made it to the top 10 in the United Kingdom. She also opened for Beyonce in her Summer 2009 tour. Her second album, “No Gravity,” produced her biggest single yet, “Impossible”. This song made it to No.13 on Billboard’s top 100. Shontelle has also collaborated with other big stars such as Bruno Mars.
A spokesman for Music Makers said, “Shontelle has an amazing voice and has gained worldwide attention for her hits such as ‘Impossible’ and ‘Perfect Nightmare’.”
Emily McConnell, a freshman communications major, said, “Shontelle, I believe, is going to be one of the up-and-coming singer-songwriters to see. She is similar to Beyonce and Rihanna, and her lyrics suggest that she is a hard worker and she really wants to succeed in the business.”
Many students and student organizations have put hard work into making the event highly-anticipated.
A spokesman for Music Makers said it hopes everyone can come out and enjoy the show. MMP also said it “feel[s] like each of these bands will bring a unique style and entertaining performance to the festival. It’s going to be a great night.”