The SUNY Fredonia campus is buzzing with excitement in anticipation of the 29th annual "FredFest" spring music festival, Saturday, May 2, which begins at 3 p.m. in and around the Steele Hall Field House. With the chart-topping rock band O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) serving as the headliner, advanced tickets are required for enrolled students and their guests to attend this year’s sold-out Student Association-sponsored event.
All those who attend the concert must be accompanied by a SUNY Fredonia student, be at least 18 years of age, and show proper I.D. and ticket at the entrance. University Police and other local law enforcers will be checking IDs and bags at the entrance, and no outside food or beverage is permitted.
“We are very pleased to be able to bring such a popular band to FredFest this year for our students,” said Erin Mroczka, assistant director of campus life. “However, due to their popularity, we’ve had to move the headline event to an indoor venue, for safety and security reasons, which somewhat limits our seating.”
Mroczka, who estimates a total seating capacity of approximately 3,500 inside the Field House, added, “Although we will be unable to accommodate everyone interested in attending the concert, there will still be plenty of other activities to enjoy throughout the afternoon, and we hope as many students as possible experience and enjoy FredFest.”
Students will also still be able to enjoy food and beverages from a variety of local and regional vendors, including the return of the hugely popular Dinosaur Bar-B-Que from Rochester, available between 3 and 5 p.m. for $5 per plate with an advance ticket from the Ticket Office. Airbrushed tattoos, curly fries and cotton candy are just a sampling of the additional activities available.
O.A.R., expected to take the stage at approximately 7:30 p.m., will be preceded by a variety of local bands, including Everything and You, Colors in the Air, and Rocko Dorsey, as well as Fredonia’s Battle of the Bands winner, Jud Q in the Black Hole. The music will accompany the start of FredFest at 3 p.m.
O.A.R. consists of Marc Roberge (vocals, guitar), Chris Culos (drums, percussion), Richard On (guitar, backing vocals), Benji Gershman (bass guitar), and Jerry DePizzo (saxophone, guitar, backing vocals). Due to massive online distribution over campus networks, the band has become especially popular among college students. Many of their songs relate to the band’s time at Ohio State University, as well as when they first formed while growing up in Rockville, Md.
In the summer of 2008, O.A.R. released their sixth and latest album, "All Sides," which debuted at #13 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, its highest-ranked album to date. Later that year the band went on tour, which concluded with O.A.R. serving as an opening act for the Dave Matthews Band at summer’s end. The album’s first single, Shattered (Turn the Car Around), was released on June 13 and has been the band's biggest hit to date, reaching #35 on the Billboard Pop 100 chart, surpassing its previous best Love and Memories, which reached #98.
O.A.R. recently released their second single, This Town, which has garnered much airplay on stations of varying genres across the U.S. In March, the song was used in a NASCAR racing promotion, and stood at #27 on Billboard’s Hot Adult Top 40 list after four weeks on this chart.
"All Sides” is O.A.R.'s first new studio album since its breakthrough album, "Stories of a Stranger," which was released in 2005 and included the band’s hit singles Love and Memories and Heard the World.
For more information, contact the Campus Life Office at 716-673-3143.
