On October 4, 2024, the Mississippi State University community packed into downtown Starkville’s main street for one of Mississippi State University’s and Starkville’s biggest events of the year: Bulldog Bash.
In 2024, the concert featured three-time Grammy winner Ludacris. Previous headliners include Jason Derulo, T-Pain, Jason Mraz, Third Eye Blind and other notable artists. Big names such as these can leave on wondering who is behind getting these artists to Starkville.
Each year, a five-person team is appointed by the previous year’s executive team. This year, that team includes director Sneha Cherukuri, assistant director Spencer Rea, sponsorship coordinator Kevin Osorio, artist relations coordinator Mont Mitchell, public relations Coordinator Izzy Stewart and advisor and Associate Director at the Center for Student Activities Kylie Forrester. As soon as they are appointed into their positions in late December/early January, work starts toward the next year’s Bulldog Bash.
Cherukuri, a junior biological sciences major, touched on the process the committee goes through each year.
“In the preliminary months we’re pretty much working with all the officials that we need to see how this can look safer, more organized than the years past,” Cherukuri said. “Over the summer, I stay here and work with all of our officials to make sure everything logistically on our end is working, and then when we get here in the fall, it’s like hit the ground running, making sure we have every item, every scissor packed, every roll of tape, and every sign ordered.”
Mont Mitchell, Bulldog Bash artist relations coordinator and junior business economics major, touched on the process that goes on behind finding and recruiting artists for the show.
“I’m the coordinator between artists and their management team to get everything prepared for them for the day of the show. My role right now is looking at previous years and also looking at what music Starkville has seen, and getting a really good taste of what Starkville wants to see,” Mitchell said. “What’s something new that hasn’t been to Starkville before?”
Stewart and Osorio also work endlessly to help get the show ready for the fall.
“We’re trying to get people as excited as possible,” Stewart said. “We want people coming from all over the place, it’s not just a Mississippi State exclusive thing.”
Osorio touched on elevating the VIP experience.
“My goal is to be able to have what we need, and have enough for everything we need,” Osorio said. “I also want to create one of the best VIP experiences ever. I want to go to the next level and give our VIP people and our sponsorships a better experience.”
While the main focus of Bulldog Bash is usually on the headliner, the show features much more than just the main performance. The “local stage,” which sits right outside of the main one, showcases local bands throughout the day. Along with this extra entertainment, The Maroon Market, an all day marketplace through downtown, features vendors and food trucks to be enjoyed by all.
Spencer Rea, junior business administration major and Bulldog Bash assistant director touched on how it can be tough to accomplish Bulldog Bash alone, and how important it is to have outside support.
“The day of the show, the Student Association cabinet plays a really integral part. They help set up the Maroon Market,” Rea said. “They get there at 8:00 a.m. and some of them don’t leave until the show ends, which is close to 10 o’clock at night.”
Other notable forces that help prepare for the show include the MSU Event Services and the group’s sponsor, Forrester.
“She’s always fighting for what we want. She’s our advocate for how we want [Bulldog] Bash to be,” Cherukuri said. “She’s going to do whatever she can to make sure that we can work with administration in any kind of way possible.”
While all the executive members of Bulldog Bash work for months on end toward the show, each person has their own goals and desires to get out of it.
“I want to prove to myself and to our team that we are small but we are mighty. We started with zero knowledge of how this worked. We’ve done some music production stuff, but never on this scale,” Cherukuri said. “Just knowing that behind the scenes, we were the people who were able to put on a concert for thousands of people and bridge the gap between Starkville and Mississippi State.”
Mont Mitchell shared his motivation behind his search for a headliner for this year’s show.
“[I] want to be intentional about who we’re hitting it with, whether it be a certain group that we know hasn’t really been to the show before, or a certain group that is not advocated for on campus,” Mitchell said.
Rea mentioned his goal for next year’s show as a whole, encompassing what Bulldog Bash is all about.
“I want this Bulldog Bash to be the one that everybody’s like, ‘I’m gonna go!’” Rea said. “I want those students that think outdoor concerts just aren’t their thing to come, and I want it to be their best experience at MSU.”
