Dani Gagnon
A&E Editor
It’s that time of year again. We’ve made it through the first two weeks of the semester and now it’s time to congratulate ourselves and celebrate with a free concert. Tonight, at 7:30, W.A.C. will be hosting this year’s Party on the Green. The activities will be held in the residential quad where there will be popcorn, cotton candy, W.A.C. members running around in animal and condiment costumes, soda and of course, music. This evening’s main acts include Rockie Fresh and Air Dubai. W.A.C.’s line up promises to be a memorable experience. Fresh, with his alternative and collaborative hip-hop sound, has a wide array of influences, not only limited to his personal music history. His past in the music industry led him to meet the members of Good Charlotte and Fall Out Boy, both of whom Fresh has cited as influences for his own work. Fresh has an extensive list of guest-artists who star in his mixtapes, giving the final product a cohesive yet heavily spiced with collaborative sound.
In 2009, Fresh began a steady routine of producing mixtapes, beginning with his debut album, “Rockie’s Modern Life,” and followed by five further collections. His most recent release was April’s “The Birthday Tape.”
Also joining us for Party on the Green is Air Dubai. The six-piece hip-hop band is composed of vocalists Julian Thomas and Jon Shockness, guitarist Lawrence Grivich, Michael Ray on the keyboards and synth, Taylor Trait on bass and Nick Spreigl on the drums. Air Dubai is often reviewed as highly energetic, particularly in live performance. “Warning EP” is their most recent release of their six albums and EPs.
Their reviewers have called Air Dubai a melting pot of R&B, jazz and alternative rock, each of their albums has a distinct sound in which they explore the techniques of adding elements from different genres. For their diversely influenced sound, Westword Magazine voted them their best hip-hop band for their 2010, 2011 and 2012 award showcases.
Among these performers, there will be a continued Wooster tradition on stage as well. An on-campus student band will perform as the opening act for the musical performances.
W.A.C. announced late on Tuesday that the lucky act will be Stop. Motion., featuring Mickey Ostheimer ’16, Emma Kahn ’15, Warner Brownfeld ’16, Bridget Slone ’16 and James May ’16. In the past years, with student bands opening for main acts at Party on the Green and Spring Fest have been indicative moments pointing towards the Wooster culture and community. The involvement of students on campus is deeply rooted in commitment and dedication to their activity; their involvement leads them to success and is particularly visible when bridged outward from campus and can breathe outside of the “Wooster bubble” and stand on its own.
So, as you’ve almost certainly seen the posters advertising Party on the Green, you should be even more excited to hear these artists who have traveled varying distances- — Chicago, Denver, Lowry — to be here and play. See you on the green.
The six members of Air Dubai pose as a group (Photo courtesy AP).
Rockie Fresh poses at the Annual Woodie Awards (Photo courtesy AP).