On Saturday night, downtown Starkville and the Cotton District were not the only areas in town with a large gathering of college students looking for a good time.
A group of Mississippi State University students hosted a three-band event which attracted almost 300 people.
The turnout could be partially because of the event’s cost being a mere $5 for a night of entertainment and cold beer – the same price you would pay just to step foot past the doorman at a watering hole that might not even have live music. For the ones who chose not to drink the devil’s brew, the cost was nothing.
After the third band began playing and 175 people had arrived, the event’s hosts – Taylor Gair, Casey McKay and Nathan Herring – decided the following people did not need to pay an entrance fee.
“We decided to quit taking people’s money because we had already made more money than we spent,” Herring said.
The three bands – King Elementary, The Da Vinci’s and Boyscout – came from Jackson to play at the house.
“We have a lot of bands who ask to play here just because a lot of people show up to see them,” Gair said.
The first band to take the stage was Boyscout. The band, previously known as Signals, played under the band’s new moniker for the first time that night.
“Intimacy is the allure of the house party,” Knowlton Bourne, Boyscout singer and guitarist said.
The backyard was where the self-made stage was located with music equipment and jumbo speakers.
“The sound was great; they really put a lot of effort into every aspect of the part and it really paid off,” senior art major Gracie Nichols said.
The rock band attracted so many people, the wooden deck on the back of the house collapsed under the weight before the night had begun.
After Boyscout finished its last song, The Da Vincis hopped on stage continuing the night with more music.
The band entertained the crowd with its set of exploratory, jazzy rock.
Gair said the band was a perfect fit for the night because, “We don’t usually have bands like that come to Starkville.”
The Da Vincis’ bassist, Payton Randolph, is also the younger brother of the bass player in King Elementary, Will Randolph.
“We’ve been together since the sixth grade,” Randolph said.
Payton Randolph said King Elementary was one of his main musical influences while growing up.
“… [The band] is really the one who got us all into music, and this is their first time back since they broke up,” he said.
The excitement of King Elementary’s reformation seemed to be the catalyst for its very impressive, nonprofit gig.
King Elementary continued the night of enticing music with the band’s first performance in three years with its original drummer, Andrew Fox. During those years, the band relocated to Los Angeles to be with its manager. While most of the band was together Saturday, one of the guitarists remained on the West Coast. He is expected to return and play with the entire band at Hal and Mal’s in Jackson shortly after Thanksgiving. The band previously signed with Capital Records for two years and recorded the band’s album, Kudzu, at Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, the same place where Modest Mouse recorded with Denis Herring, who also recorded with King Elementary.
“The first show that made me feel like we were something worth while, was a house party,” said Morgan Jones, King Elementary’s lead singer and guitarist.
The band played flawlessly with only a brief interruption when the Starkville Police Department responded to a noise complaint. The musicians continued playing as the police checked IDs in the crowd and only had to stop momentarily when an announcement was made to warn against underage drinking.
Fortunately for the guests, no tickets were issued.
After police officers vacated the premises, the event smoothly moved back into full swing as if there had been no interruptions.
When King Elementary finished, two local bands, We’re Into Survival and The Jarheads, came to the music-hungry crowd’s rescue with originally-written tunes. Survival’s Joe Stralker, Phillip Baggett and Steve Jordan have been touring all across the U.S., but still had the itch to play for a crowd composed of fans and friends.
“Kids now days are listening to more than just jam bands,” Stralker said. “Starkville is turning a new page by being more open to different types of music.”
The Jarheads put on an impressive show closing the night. The live music did not stop until almost 2 a.m.
McKay said he and his friends will continue to host more free music acts in the future.
“It was like a little music festival in my own back yard,” he said.