Wyclef Jean, Grammy-winning musician and producer, will headline the 11th annual Groovin’ on the Grounds music festival organized by Students on Target. Rapper Chamillionaire, singer-songwriter Matt Wertz, rock group Ingram Hill and the Greg Talmage Band, the 2007 winner of the University’s Battle of the Bands, will also play at the concert, which aims to educate college students about positive choices regarding alcohol consumption. Groovin’ on the Grounds will be held April 12. The festival will begin at 1 p.m. and feature a drunk driving simulator and a Rock Band tournament. The music performances will begin at 3 p.m. Micaela DeGruy, mass communication sophomore and director of Students on Target, said the organization worked internally to decide which artists would perform. “Our executive staff got together and made a decision about what kind of music we would want,” DeGruy said. “We also thought about what kind of music we haven’t had in a while.” DeGruy said Students on Target, a division of Student Government whose goal is to provide students with a “good time not wasted,” worked with concert promoters to see which artists would be available and also polled its members to see which artists were most popular. DeGruy said that the budget for this year’s event is not yet known because the contracts with artists have not been finalized. The artists in this year’s lineup promote positive choices that are in line with the message of Students on Target, DeGruy said. “Wyclef Jean is a humanitarian, so we’re really glad to have him,” DeGruy said. “He does a lot for his community. Chamillionaire is not your typical rap artist either. If you read his biography he promotes healthy choices as far as drinking is concerned. And the other three artists are all good Southern rock artists.” DeGruy said Groovin’ on the Grounds is a great way to promote the University and what it is doing to counter its party image. “It’s an opportunity for us to get our message out,” DeGruy said. “We get an opportunity to share our message about what LSU is doing to promote healthy choices.” Parker Wishik, mass communication junior and director of communications for SG, said he was excited about the diversity of this year’s lineup. “It’s a great arrangement they’ve got,” Wishik said. “They’ve got two Grammy winners, Wyclef Jean and Chamillionaire, which is, I believe, a first for Groovin’ on the Grounds. It’s going to be a good eclectic mix of performers, so there should be something for everybody … It will be a huge success.” Some students said they probably would not attend because they were not familiar with the performers. “I probably wouldn’t go based on that lineup,” said Jenni Jenneman, anthropology senior. But Kelvin Dandridge, biological sciences freshman, said he would stay for the whole concert, even though he had only heard of a few performers. “I probably would see all of them,” Dandridge said. “I would go specifically for Wyclef Jean and Chamillionaire because I’d heard of them before. But I’m not just going to stay for them; I’ll stay for the whole thing.”
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