Michael Hatchett
A&E Editor
It’s the end of the first two weeks of school, and Wooster students know what that means. It’s time for the Wooster Activity Crew’s annual free fall concert. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., W.A.C. will host this year’s Party on the Green.
The event will be held on the residential quad, featuring free popcorn, candy and soda in addition to live music. This year Party on the Green features Detroit dream-pop duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., rising dance-rock band Royal Teeth, local DJ Rollergirl and student opener Drasstic Sax.
Despite the name, Rollergirl is neither a girl nor someone particularly adept at roller-skating, but a disco-funk DJ based in Athens, Ohio. His inspirations include Justice, Daft Punk and more.
Drasstic Sax is a funk trio consisting of Jack Eyre ’15 on tenor sax, Sam Corman-Penzel ’16 on drums and Billy Smolen ’17 on electric bass. This trio is another addition to the Wooster tradition of having student bands open for big names during Party on the Green and its spring counterpart, the aptly named Springfest.
Royal Teeth is a band I’ve actually heard before, as their hit song “Wild” is featured in soccer video game FIFA 13 alongside artists like Metric, Bastille and Imagine Dragons. While I normally associate the band with memories of getting destroyed by FC Barcelona, I’m eager to see what else Royal Teeth has to offer. They’ve also performed live on American Idol, which means they’re at least on William Hung’s level. All joking aside, Royal Teeth promises to deliver an enthusiastic live performance, as their frontman is known for jumping into the audience with a massive drum and beating the hell out of it; if that doesn’t excite you, I’m not sure what will.
The headliner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr, plays what SPIN.com calls “synth-soaked, lightweight, Postal Service-y glitch pop.” Their danceable, catchy indie pop has garnered many fans, including the NASCAR driver they named themselves after. Co-director of W.A.C.’s Big Music committee Annie Partika ’15 says she’s excited about Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. because “[Wooster’s] had a lot of up-and-coming artists who have made it big, but what’s exciting is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. has already been around.”
She notes that multiple students have “come up to me and tell me that they’ve seen [a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. performance] and it was amazing.” Her co-director, Michael Herman ’17, says he’s excited because Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is a band with “one of the largest fanbases that we have had play at [Party on the Green].”
To this author at least, Party on the Green promises to be a perfect blend of student funk, a local mixmaster, rising dance rock stars and big-name infectious indie pop. You’ll find me by the Lemonberry stand, eating frozen yogurt in a bear costume. See you there.