Saturday night turned out to be a chilly one, but the music at this year’s Old Main Music Festival heated things up quickly. Brian Fuente, Sugarland and Robert Randolph and the Family Band entertained the crowds from 7 p.m. to midnight with a mix of music that included folk-rock, country and jam-band funk.
Starkville’s weather turnaround may have kept some fans at home, but the faithful, ticket-carrying patrons still came out in large numbers to support Old Main.
Local artist Brian Fuente kicked the night off with his laid-back guitar rock and had the girls swooning.
Following Fuente, the up-and-coming country band Sugarland took the stage and played a few of their songs off their debut CD, including their current chart-climber “Baby Girl.” The band’s infectious melodies had the crowds belting out their songs, or at least humming along with them by the end.
But once Robert Randolph took the stage around 9:45 p.m., the audience went crazy. Randolph started out the set with a fan-favorite, “Nobody,” from the group’s 2003 debut Unclassified. The band jammed through some of their biggest hits including their most famous, “I Need More Love,” but Randolph’s pedal steel guitar stole the show. Every time the band began one of their prolonged jam sessions with Randolph leaning his pedal steel and ripping away, the crowd screamed in hysteria.
An awe-inspiring performance summed up the night’s cool and carefree atmosphere. Randolph said playing in small towns like Starkville are some of the best venues a musician ever gets to play.
A couple of fans even commented on how pleased they were with the festival’s choices for music acts. MSU junior Brooke Jones, Canton Academy senior Hali Sappington and Student Association Executive Director Christy Vinson gave all their different picks of the best band at Old Main.
“I liked the bands a lot; they were very entertaining,” Jones said. “Robert Randolph was my favorite because his music is easy to dance to, fun and easy-going.”
“The bands were awesome tonight, especially Sugarland,” Sappington said. “They are my favorite, and they played really well. It was great.”
“Well, I loved Brian Fuente because I love that kind of laid-back music he plays,” Vinson said. “And I think all the bands were great, and they represented a variety of different genres. I think that helped get all the different MSU students out here tonight.”
As for the event’s overall success, Student Association President Jon David Cole said it went very well.
“I’m positive that the turnout at this year’s Old Main Music Festival is far beyond what we’ve ever had before,” Cole said. “The pre-ticket sales were unprecedented for Old Main Music Festival this year. Not only that, I probably counted about 3,000 wristbands myself coming through the gates; we had a great turnout.”
Former SA President Adam Telle said the initial attendance count was 3,600 but he expects it to increase. He also said the SA broke even with the money spent.
“That means Old Main can continue into the future,” he said.
With a large turnout and great live bands, Cole said he thinks the audiences had a great time at Old Main this year.
“I think a lot of people liked the bands,” Cole said. “It was a really eclectic blend of bands that, I think, appealed to a lot of different people. Also, everything went pretty smoothly, surprisingly. We had a couple of problems with power this morning, but everything went really well the rest of the night; no incidents with police or anything like that.”
Students agree that events like Old Main Music Festival are great for the students, but they are also a good way for MSU and Starkville to build a good relationship that will allow for more events like this in the future.
“I think events like Old Main Music Festival are great to foster good relationships between the University and Starkville because it gives us a chance to work together to bring people here and get different businesses involved,” Vinson said. “It also improves the reputation for MSU because we often get dubbed a ‘suitcase college,’ so I think it helps us bring more fun to the University and more revenue to Starkville.”
“I definitely love events like this, although I think it should be free,” Jones said. “I think we should have more events like this for the students with both local and high-profile bands.”
“I think these types of events are really great for MSU and Starkville,” Sappington said. “I’ll be going to school here in the fall because of this. It’s a great incentive.”
“This is the biggest night of the year for some of the businesses here on Main Street,” Cole said. “The Student Association and Mississippi State contributed to that, and it’s just a testament to the things we’re doing to build better relationships between Starkville and Mississippi State.”
Cole adds that Old Main Music Festival, like Bulldog Bash in the fall, will hopefully become a staple here in Starkville that students and citizens can continue to enjoy in the future.
“We definitely look forward to making Old Main Music Festival bigger and better in the years to come,” Cole said.