Fall 2009 College Fest To Welcome Students BackThe eighth annual College Fest event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 10, from 7 to 11 p.m. at Denny’s Plaza in downtown Spartanburg, featuring nationally known singer/songwriter Matt Wertz, local recording artists After August, and Atlanta-based hip-hop artist B.o.B.
The Fall 2009 College Fest is a yearly event targeted to college-age students and presented and hosted by College Town of Spartanburg, a consortium of the six colleges in Spartanburg (Converse College, Sherman College, Spartanburg Methodist College, Spartanburg Community College, University of South Carolina Upstate and Wofford College) and in partnership with the City of Spartanburg. College Town was initiated by Spartanburg Mayor Bill Barnet in 2003 with the goal of collaborative social and academic programs to showcase the institutions of higher education in the community.
Previous College Fest events have been held annually in the spring, however the event has been moved to the fall to coincide with the beginning of the school year and welcome the local college students to the Spartanburg community.Several local food vendors will be on hand at the event providing free food to students with valid tickets, including Papa John’s, Jason’s Deli, Smokin’ Pig BBQ and several others. Student tickets are available at each of the respective Spartanburg County colleges. This year’s musical guests bring a diverse array of music that will appeal to all of Spartanburg’s college students.
Headlining the fall 2009 College Fest is singer/songwriter Matt Wertz, who is currently promoting his fourth full-length album Under Summer Sun and an EP entitled Where We Started, both 2008 releases on the Universal Republic label. He initially grew his fan base by performing at Young Life camps following the release of his first album, Somedays, in 2001. He has toured with several acts including Gavin Degraw, Jason Mraz, Jars of Clay, and others. Some of Wertz’s songs have been featured on both the small and large screen, in movies like Employee of the Month and My Super Ex-Girlfriend, along with TV shows like Wildfire and Brothers and Sisters. Over his seven-year career, he has sold more than 75,000 albums. He divides his time between the stage and his home in Nashville.
Spartanburg recording artists After August have been building a fan base throughout the country since they formed in 2004. They have a polished rock sound and an energetic live show. They have shared the stage and played alongside bands such as Bon Jovi, Little Big Town, Cowboy Mouth, Twista, The Last Goodnight, & Matt Costa. They entered Rock 101.1’s Battle of the Bands in January 2006 and won it, while beating out over 100 bands. Their reward – opening up for Bon Jovi at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, SC on February 8, 2006 for a sold out crowd of 12,000 people. The next day, they had so many hits and downloads on their website, that it crashed. It was a very good crash. Since then the band has released albums, is constantly touring, and has played with many national acts. With tunes ranging from pop-rock love ballads to lead-filled southern-rock songs, After August already has racked up over 200,000 myspace visits. They released their self-titled full-length debut in 2006 and have two EPs to their credit, including 2008’s “AA EP.”
B.o.B., also known as Bobby Ray, is an Atlanta hip-hop artist with Grand Hustle and Atlantic Records, who began selling beats to other artists at the age of 15. Now at 20 years old, he has released four mix tapes and most recently his 2009 debut album The Adventures of Bobby Ray on the Grand Hustle label. B.o.B has a unique talent in that he produces, writes, raps, arranges, and mixes his own music. He is a one stop music creation shop from top to bottom. Hit beat maker Jim Jonsin, who has already made his mark by producing fire such as “Give It To Me” by Sean Paul and Danity Kane’s “Showstopper” in addition to smashes by Trick Daddy, Trina, Pretty Ricky and others, has signed B.o.B to his Rebel Rock imprint as the flagship artist. Plus, the industry tastemaker, TJ Chapman the CEO of TJ’s DJ’s is serving as B.o.B’s co-manager after helping launch the careers of T-Pain, David Banner, Yung Joc, and Rick Ross to name a few.
The West Main Artists Cooperative is a non-profit initiative that houses thirty-five artists. Howard Solomon purchased the 20,000 square foot West Main Baptist church a few months back with the notion of giving artists an affordable place to work, providing a diverse group to learn from and forming a catalyst which would both pull the Spartanburg community together with fine art and help revitalize the downtown area. All aspect of the arts is produced here: painting, drawing, printmaking, graphic design, writing, music, performing arts are in the works, ceramics, jewelry making, and creative thinking in general. Plenty of exhibition space is here to hang, view, and sell work.
