The Mississippi State University Student Association announced Thursday it will host the All-American Rejects as the headliner for the 2018 Bulldog Bash.
Bulldog Bash is set for Sept. 28, the night before a highly anticipated MSU football game against the University of Florida.
The All-American Rejects are a rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma. The band gained popularity in the early 2000s with hits like “Swing, Swing,” “Move Along,” “Dirty Little Secret” and “It Ends Tonight.”
David Cuevas, director for this year’s Bulldog Bash, said the Student Association started looking for musical acts in May.
“We thought (All-American Rejects) is someone that we all as children grew up with. It’s someone we all knew and everybody else would know and we thought they would put on an incredible show,” he said.
The Student Association will receive roughly $400,000 in 2-percent restaurant sales tax revenue collected in the city in Fiscal Year 2018. The organization has budgeted $145,000 of that for Bulldog Bash.
Bulldog Bash is being hosted in downtown Starkville for the second year in a row after aldermen approved a location on Main Street earlier this month. Cuevas said the Student Association is making some modifications based on feedback from last year’s event to improve the experience for attendees.
“We added a second video screen and delayed sound speakers,” he said. “This will help everybody last year who had problems with sound and visuals. We’ve also added a crane video screen, and that will help with angles for all the videos.”
Cuevas said this year, the Student Association will add a kid zone to its Maroon Market, which starts at 3 p.m. before the concert. The Maroon Market will feature vendors along the street before the concert begins at 7 p.m.
Mayor Lynn Spruill said she’s excited to see Bulldog Bash hosted in downtown Starkville again this year, as it’s a way to strengthen ties with the university and show off the downtown area.
“I have made no secret of the fact that I love Bulldog Bash,” Spruill said. “It was a fabulous event last year and I expect it to be more so, with what we’ve learned from the first time we had it in the downtown area.
“If the students are happy with their choice of a band, I’m delighted too,” she added. “We want them to enjoy being with us.”
Cuevas also said the Student Association is anticipating this year’s concert may draw record crowds.
“Last year we had about 37,000 to 38,000 people,” Cuevas said. “This year, we’re expecting over 40,000. With the way it’s grown over the past few years, we’re on track to hit that and we probably will. It’s on what’s probably one of the biggest weekends of the year and I think this place is going to be incredible.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.