The Student Programming Board held its annual Fall Fest concert series this past weekend in South Lot on the Mount Carmel Campus. The event featured performances from Tyler Hilton of “One Tree Hill,” Nickelodeon star Jamie Lynn Spears, and country singer-songwriter Josh Thompson.
Some students attended the annual country-themed gathering hoping for a real-life glimpse of the two popular television actors, while others merely wanted to see what the event was all about.
Besides the performances, students indulged in food from a large variety of food trucks. Some favorites were grilled cheese from The Whey Station, ice cream from Mister Softee, and specialty meatballs from The Local Meatball based 30 minutes away in Fairfield.
Freshman Emilio Zullo was impressed with the way the food trucks helped promote the theme of the day.
“I like how they have the pickup truck with the food in it-brings out the country here,” he said.
Hilton mentioned his character from “One Tree Hill” multiple times. He asked the audience if there were any “Chris Keller” fans to help him sing a few of his songs from the show. Many students were disappointed Spears didn’t embrace her former television role as much as Hilton did.
“We just wanted Zoey, but she did not embrace her Zoey background,” junior MaryEllen Devine said.
Devine’s friend, junior Jackie Consoli, said, “We wanted her to sing the theme song.”
At one point during the show, students began a “Zoey” chant. Spears smiled and mentioned she has been working on her music since the show ended seven years ago.
“She’s a talented singer, but I don’t love the style of the songs,” freshman Brendan Splaine said.
Headliner Josh Thompson did not get as much attention as the actors. According to his website, the singer released his first album in 2010. A few of the songs became top 20 hits. Thompson also wrote “Church Pew or Bar Stool,” which Jason Aldean recorded for his “My Kinda Party” album.
Despite these successes, not many students stayed for his performance. Thompson went on three hours into the show at 5 p.m., and the students who had come to see Hilton and Spears had already left.
Splaine kept an open mind about Thompson despite never hearing his music before.
“I don’t know anything about him, but if he’s a talented singer I’ll give him a chance,” he said.
Mirasola liked how the artists appreciated their supporters.
“I liked how fun everything was. They really made it about audience engagement and audience participation, so I thought it was really good,” she said.
And if Fall Fest comes back next year, junior Kellie Cooper has a word of advice for the Student Programming Board.
“Maybe [have] a more upper-crust artist, but I still say it’s great,” she said.
Photos courtesy of Grace Manthey
For more Fall Fest photos, visit the Q30 Entertainment Facebook page. Don’t forget to tag yourself!
