Concert for the Community
Inside the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall the event “Concert for the Community” took place on Thursday, October 19 at 2 p.m., intended to promote acceptance and tolerance of diversity within Fayetteville.
Throughout the course of the day musicians and participants took part the competition called The Battle of the Bands, donated blood, clothing, and food for charity. The headliner act Phoenix set closed the show this year.
The President of Student Life Erika Ramirez, a Junior Education major from Fort Smith, stated, “There is no entry fee to attend, but to participate in the Battle of the Bands, we charge $25 per act. We use that money to offer prizes for the groups who place first, second and third, including $300 cash for the winner. The rest of the proceeds go to Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry. This year it looks like we’ll be donating close to $750.”
More than 2,500 people tuned in to the livestream while 500 people attended in person. “Our hope is, through music and having a good time, people learn to empathize. That’s something it seems like we could use.” Ramirez claimed.
A range of musicians were hosted, including student and faculty groups, that took park in the Battle of the Bands. The Music Department faculty judged 32 bands this year. Stephanie Brooksides, a sophomore engineering major from Ohio, is a first-year participant in the Battle of the Bands, her band Bob Dylan’s Beard won this year’s battle. “They had the livestream set up where we could see people tuning in. That helped, we tend to feed off the crowd energy at our shows.”