Country star Billy Currington will be headlining the 2016 SGA Welcome Week Concert this Saturday. The Georgia-born singer and songwriter was selected by votes from the student body.
Currington has had nine singles hit the number one spot on the Billboard Country charts, including “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right,” “Good Directions,” “People Are Crazy,” “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer,” among several other hits.
Currington’s rise in the country music scene began with his appearance on megastar Shania Twain’s single “Party for Two.” (Currington performed on the “country mix” while Sugar Ray front-man Mark McGrath provided vocals on the “pop mix” that was intended for play on Top 40 radio stations.)
All in all, Currington has released six studio albums, Billy Currington (2003), Doin’ Somethin’ Right (2005), Little Bit of Everything (2008), Enjoy Yourself (2010), We Are Tonight (2013), and Summer Forever (2015). Two of those have gone gold, (selling at least 500,000 copies in the U.S.) Little Bit of Everything and Enjoy Yourself, with Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right even going platinum after selling one million copies.
While Currington’s musical sound is well within the realms of country music, like many of his contemporaries, he employ elements from different genres. Several of his hits contain the influences of pop, (“I Got a Feelin’”) and R&B (“Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right” and “Let Me Down Easy”). Most prominent is the sunny folk influence found in songs such as “People Are Crazy,” “Good Directions,” and “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer.”
Opening for Billy Currington this Saturday at ETSU will be the Jacob Davis Band from Shreveport, Louisiana. Davis’s music, a mellow, melodic take on country, is sure to please fans of Billy Currington.
Around the end of every spring semester, SGA asks students to vote on the next fall’s performer for the Welcome Week concert. Students are asked to request artists from a specific genre — in this case country — and a selection of artists are voted on by the student body. Last semester, around 2,000 students placed their votes for which artist they wanted to see perform.
Associate Director of Student Relations Carter Warden said that the school is fortunate to work with Currington, who won last semester’s poll and was fortunately able to be contracted to perform.
“As always, myself, President Shah and Secretary Marmon are very excited to be participating in the welcome week activities,” said SGA Vice President Nathaniel Farnor “Every year, as students return to campus, they can often get stressed and nervous. It is our hope that the welcome week concert will offer them a chance to relax, socialize, and have fun with their friends after the first week of classes.”
The outdoor Welcome Week concert will take place Aug. 27 in front of the Center for Physical Activity. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m., and the show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Student tickets are available at the information desk in the second story of the D.P. Culp University Center. These tickets are available for free with a Student ID.
Students and staff may also purchase up to four discounted tickets at $15 each. In addition, the general public are able to purchase tickets online for $25 at www.etsu.edu/concerts.
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