Homecoming 2009: Students ‘party like rockstars’ at Shop Boyz and Cartel concert

Keeping in line with this year’s theme, GCSU continued its Homecoming concert tradition. Cartel and Shop Boyz brought the party to the big green at West Campus Friday night.

More than 1,000 students and alumni flooded the gates starting as early as 6:30 p.m. Zara-Gray Rowe, sophomore mass communication major, arrived early hoping to catch a glimpse of the bands before they went on.

“It was definitely not the same as last year,” Rowe said. “It was so much cooler!” Last year, SGA and Campus Activities Board brought Sister Hazel, a widely popular 90s alternative band.

A concert committee is formed each year to manage budget, band availability and local interest, all of which are taken into account for the band selection. This year, the Department of Campus Life, with the assistance of SGA and RSA, snagged Shop Boyz and Cartel, a pop punk band from Conyers, Ga.

Megan Moss, a freshman education major, expressed her excitement for this year’s concert.

“I screamed when I heard Cartel was playing for Homecoming,” Moss said. “I’ve loved them since tenth grade and I’ve always wanted to see them live.”

Cartel has released two albums since they formed in 2003. The band has toured with others like New Found Glory and Boys Like Girls. Cartel also participated in the “Band in a Bubble” experiment and completed their second full-length album in twenty days while being watched live on MTV.

Cartel’s lead singer Will Pugh spoke with a few lucky fans before the show.

“I’m glad we got to come back [to Milledgeville],” Pugh said. “I would have loved to have something this cool happen when I was in school.”

Much like last year, the performance was held on the soccer fields at West Campus but fans gained a new concert experience.

“I was so close!” Rowe said. “I could reach out and touch them. I touched Cartel!”

Shop Boyz teased the crowd with a hip-hop mix of their most famous tracks before performing their chart topping single, Party Like a Rockstar. Cartel followed with an array of songs from their two previous albums.

The concert wrapped up around 11 p.m., but many fans wanted more.

“I didn’t want to leave,” Moss said. “They had to drag me away.”
Many alumni returned for the celebration and took advantage of discounted ticket pricing.

Zach Mullins, SGA president-elect, explained plans for future Homecoming celebrations.

“It all comes down to money if we want to continue,” Mullins said. “I can say that my administration has full intention of continuing the funding of Homecoming through the university’s Student Fee Budgeting process.”

Students can look forward to many more Homecoming celebrations like this year. Organizations like CAB, RSA and SGA are committed to continuing this tradition.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 27 2009. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry