Music from OneRepublic, Jay Sean, Steel Magnolia, The Daylights and Stone Rabbits resonated over the Parade Ground packed with about 10,000 people Saturday at the annual Groovin’ on the Grounds concert.
“Music with a message” is organizer Students on Target’s mission this year, and its goal is to promote “health and wellness,” according to Beverly Suffern, SOT director. SOT held a wellness festival in conjunction with the concerts Saturday featuring fun jumps, a rock climbing wall and Zumba exercises on the Parade Ground.
Alcohol was not permitted at the concerts due to University restrictions.
Joshua Scott Jones, half of the Steel Magnolia duo, called Groovin’ a “celebration of music” and said he thought the no-alcohol policy was fitting, as there is a “time and a place for everything.”
Meghan Linsey, the other half of Steel Magnolia, is a native of Ponchatoula and said she felt at home performing at the University.
“Just for the record, I am an LSU Tiger fan,” she said during Steel Magnolia’s performance.
OneRepublic said Groovin’ was the finale of a three-week “deep South” tour.
“Let us always do a deep South tour in the spring because it is beautiful,” said Ryan Tedder, OneRepublic frontman.
After the audience called OneRepublic back for an encore, Tedder exclaimed his happiness with the performance atmosphere.
“It could not end on a better night with a better crowd,” Tedder said of the tour.
Jay Sean called University alumna Lindsay McCrory up to the stage during his performance and sang to her. McCrory called Jay Sean “really nice” and joked about his attractiveness, saying his wife was standing on the side of the stage during his performance.
McCrory said OneRepublic was her favorite of the night.
Jay Sean, who hails from England, also referenced the Louisiana weather conditions during his performance.
“I have … a mosquito on my face. This is something that does not happen in England,” he said.
Saturday was Jay Sean’s birthday, and his DJ asked the audience to sing “Happy Birthday” as Suffern delivered a cake to Jay Sean onstage.
He performed his new song, “Hit the Lights,” and asked the audience to dance while he recorded them with his camera phone, saying he would post the video to YouTube.
“I want you to show the world how LSU gets down,” Jay Sean said.
Kim Nguyen, a student at Xavier University who came to Baton Rouge for Groovin’, called the series of concerts “a great atmosphere” and said she enjoyed Jay Sean’s performance.
“I like how he used the audience,” she said.
Though the time lapse between most sets was about 30 minutes, the crowd had to wait about an hour for Jay Sean’s performance, and tensions flared, nearly sparking a fight among crowd members.
The Daylights, who joined OneRepublic in its encore mash-up of cover songs, was the second band to perform at the concert. The Daylights not only engaged the audience during their performance, asking them about a sense of belonging and teasing them about Harry Potter, but lingered near the merchandise booth afterward to visit and take pictures with fans.
Stone Rabbits, the winner of SOT’s Battle of the Bands competition in October, was the first band to perform Saturday. Several members stayed in the audience to watch the later bands perform.
Khristen Jones, SOT assistant director, said she thought the performances were “amazing.” Jones said while the day was busy and stressful, it was worth it to see so many students enjoying themselves.
Michelle Eldredge, associate director for Campus Life, said she was pleased with the Groovin’ turnout, and the Parade Ground was filled the farthest back she had ever seen.
The concerts were open to the public and free, though student fees were used to fund them.
 
 
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Contact Andrea Gallo at [email protected]