Hundreds of MSU students swarmed Rick’s Cafe Thursday for a night of entertainment from the up-and-coming rock band Somedaynew and a rock group that is no stranger to Starkville, Ingram Hill.
The night started with a high-energy performance from Atlanta foursome Somedaynew. The group has been together for a year and a half and just signed to tour with Ingram Hill. This was the band’s first visit to Mississippi, and they all agreed that MSU was a place where they could kick back and have a little fun.
“We stopped by the campus and had a lot of fun playing frisbee by the Sanderson Center,” said lead guitarist Drew Kaiser.
The popular Memphis-based rock group Ingram Hill then took the stage and kept the crowd dancing and cheering until the very last song. Starkville holds a unique place in the minds of Ingram Hill because it was the second place the band ever played together and they keep coming back year after year.
“We played here around 25 times,” said bass guitarist Shea Sowell. “Starkville has great fans, and it is definitely the top college town we’ve played in.”
Lead singer Justin Moore agreed that Starkville is one of his favorite college towns to perform in.
“Starkville fans are loyal fans,” Moore said. “We’ve seen the same faces coming back for years and years, and it is great to see familiar faces.”
One of the reasons Ingram Hill can relate so well to college students is because the lyrics were actually written when they were in college themselves and going through the same experiences.
“Most of the songs on the record were written while we were still in college,” Sowell said. “Breakups happen, you meet a lot of different people because of the way the structure is set up in. Our songs describe a lot of people that are going through the same things we did.”
Sowell explained the importance of the lyrics and how each member of the band contributes different ideas and experiences to each song.
“We all have different styles of writing. We have something for diverse crowds to get into. Our demographic is from 10 to 50. We don’t corner ourselves just to girls ages 17-23. That is why we’ve been able to play with so many people,” Sowell said.
In fact, Ingram Hill has come a long way from the performance they gave at Rick’s five years ago. They have played with the likes of B.B. King, Al Green, Jack Johnson, Life House, Michelle Branch and others.
They also toured with Hootie and the Blowfish for a month and a half.
Lead guitarist Phil Bogard said that life as a musician wasn’t always easy.
“It was a long road,” he said. “Looking back, it feels like we’ve been doing this forever.”
The group agrees that it is the fans that keep them going and always aid their performance.
“It is the fuel to the performance to look out in the audience and see fans singing along with our songs,” Bogard said.
That is exactly what the fans were doing Thursday night.
“I had a great time. I am a big fan of Ingram Hill and their music. I can’t wait until they come back again,” said sophomore Andrea Marquis.
Until Ingram Hill comes back to Starkville again, they will be working on a new album and releasing it around May 2006.
“We are all writing for the new record right now,” Sowell said. “It is a lot more mature. We want to see if we can sell a million of them.”