According to the Bulldog Bash website, around 35,000 students, alumni and Starkville locals come out to the concert. Finding artists everyone will love is difficult. This year is no different.
At the YMCA Plaza last week, students came out in spades to hear the announcement of the headlining artists for everyone’s favorite annual free concert. The instant that the names Surfaces and Bryce Vine hit the screen, cheers as well as astonishment echoed in the crowd. The second the music of these two artists played though, the crowd’s energy immediately went from intrigue to excitement.
Last year, a crowd that had not seen Bulldog Bash in two years came out in droves for HARDY, an up-and-coming name in the country music scene. Experiences seemed to vary from person to person, but HARDY put on a great show. For me, HARDY was my first ever concert experience, and I loved every second of it. My opinion of it was changed, however, when I took a trip to Oxford, Mississippi, of all places, to experience Double Decker. 
The culture between Starkville and Oxford is extremely different, so Double Decker’s lineup was not necessarily like one you would see here in Starkville. That being said, my friend is the lead singer of a band from Oxford called Happy Landing, who just so happened to be opening the day on Saturday at 11 a.m.
After a long night, a smaller crowd of 100 to 200 people came out to listen to the local folk-rock sensations. While I expected to be extremely impressed by the band themselves, which I was, the greatest surprise came from the crowd. I saw people all around me singing along, interacting, dancing and having the time of their lives with people they had never met. All simply enjoying themselves with music about nothing more than the simplicities and beauties life has to offer. This has shaped my opinion on Bulldog Bash since. 
After every artist announcement for Bulldog Bash, criticisms come. Students seem to focus on which genre of music they want to hear every year, and if it is not your particular genre, this year’s line up sucks. That is fine, but my opinion overall is that genre does not matter. The constant that is needed at Bulldog Bash is music that brings people together. Music about things that college students can relate to is what is going to bring students to love any given artist. 
This is why I think this Bulldog Bash lineup is going to be amazing. According to Chase-Anthony Ray at The Lantern, “If I could sum up a Bryce Vine show in one word, it would simply be ‘energy.'”
The energy, ultimately, will be what leads audiences to love Bulldog Bash this year. On top of Bryce Vine and Surfaces performing, the recent Battle of the Bands competition declared local band Government Plates would be opening the night. As someone who was there as Government Plates took the stage at Battle of the Bands, I can attest I will be at Bash from start to finish. 
The most you can ask for out of any given band or artist is to play music well, but so far, I have witnessed all of these artists far go further than that. It is no shock that the winner of Battle of the Bands had the crowd smiling, but it is a bit of a shock to see a crowd actively fall in love with who they are listening to.
When asked about the crowd energy for Bulldog Bash, Government Plates’ lead guitarist Max Rooks said the crowd will enjoy this year’s concert.
“I think the crowd will have a great time,” Rooks said. “Surfaces is a fantastic band; we even covered a song of theirs at our first show. I know the energy will be through the roof, and we’re definitely going to try to match it.” 
Assuming Government Plates once again brings that energy to the table, they will be perfect to open the show.
Bryce Vine and Surfaces make music meant to put a smile on your face. One of the lines in Bryce Vine’s most popular song on Spotify is, “I don’t want to worry about nothing for a while; I just want to go around living like a child.” This is music students will relate to, and it will put smiles on students’ faces. This, I hope, will be the theme of the night. 
The reason Bulldog Bash exists is for attendees to enjoy themselves and come together. In my opinion, this lineup will do that better than that. On that stage Oct. 21, I believe nothing short of happiness and elation will be brought to the crowd, and people will walk away feeling good, like they should.

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Landon Scheel | The Reflector

Feeling Good: Bulldog Bash headliners will brighten Starkville