Andy Grammer to Headline College Fest 2011
The tenth annual College Fest will be held on Thursday, Sept. 8 from 7 – 11 p.m. at Denny’s Plaza in downtown Spartanburg. Andy Grammer, one of Billboard’s 2011 Artists to Watch, will headline the event with opening bands Joie of Spartanburg and Midway Blue of Florence, S.C. College Fest coincides with the beginning of the school year and welcomes students of the seven local colleges to the Spartanburg community.
Prior to the event, Converse College’s Student Government Association will host the Hub-City High Heel Hundred from 5 – 7 p.m. Men and women from the colleges and Spartanburg community are encouraged to participate in this 100-meter dash through downtown, wearing their favorite pumps to raise awareness for the continued need for women’s equity. A children’s race (sans heels) offers the opportunity for entire families to participate.
College Fest is targeted to college-age students and hosted by College Town of Spartanburg, a consortium of the seven colleges in Spartanburg (Converse College, Sherman College, Spartanburg Methodist College, Spartanburg Community College, University of South Carolina Upstate, Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine and Wofford College) and in partnership with the City of Spartanburg.
Several local food vendors will be on hand at the event providing free food to students with valid tickets. The event is free for Spartanburg college students, and tickets are available at each of the colleges.
Spartanburg band Joie puts an alternative spin on the indie pop genre. The four-woman group includes three Converse College graduates and one graduate of Presbyterian College. Florence, S.C.’s Midway Blue blends country, blues, funk and rock. Joie can be found online at http://joietheband.tumblr.com and Midway Blue at http://www.midwayblueband.com.
Headliner Andy Grammer will take the stage at 9:30. Grammer will be touring the U.S. and Canada with Colbie Caillat over the next four months following recent tours with Natasha Bedingfield and Kate Voegele. The buzz about Grammer has been amplifying over the last year, with recent appearances on Jay Leno and Regis & Kelly, and a steady stream of praise from the LA Times, USA Today and others. His self-titled debut album was released in June, featuring the hit single “Keep Your Head Up.” The track hit #1 on Billboard’s Heatseeker chart and rose to #2 on VH1’s Top 20 Countdown. Billboard also named Grammer to their 2011 Artists to Watch list and fans voted him winner of MTV’s O (Online) Award for Most Innovative Music Video. A native of Los Angeles, Grammer began singing on the city’s streets with his acoustic guitar and car-battery-powered amplifier. He describes his sound as a cross between the relaxed vibe of Jason Mraz with the rock soul of Maroon 5. Grammer can be found online at http://www.andygrammer.com/.
Registration for the Hub-City High Heel hundred is available online at www.converse.edu/sga or on the day of the race, and the public is invited to cheer on participants along Main Street. “The gender pay gap is a very real issue impacting society as a whole, and yet it is often overlooked,” says Converse Student Government Association President Samantha Nicholson. “Women excel in their careers and continue to break glass ceilings – often while juggling the demands of family life or other obstacles. We hope college students and Spartanburg community members will come run for the fabulous women in their lives. Whether you do it for yourself, your spouse, your daughter, your mother, your sister – or all of them – you will help us make great strides by simply acknowledging the value of these women.”
Preregistration for the High Heel Hundred is $15 and race day registration is $20. A $5 student discount is offered. Proceeds will benefit the Ellen Hines Smith Girls’ Home, which helps girls learn how to trust, teaches them key social and life skills, and provides the necessary support for girls to make academic progress and set long-term goals for their lives.
For more information on College Fest, contact Rogers Brandt at collegetownspartanburg@gmail.com. For more information on the Hub-City High Heel Hundred, visit converse.edu/sga.