Billy Currington Concert

As part of East Tennessee University’s “Welcome Week” that helps all of us freshmen find ways to get more involved on campus, a concert is held on Friday night to celebrate making it through our first week of classes. This year’s artist was a country singer named Billy Currington. I was very excited to hear about the concert, partly because all the students got free tickets, and partly because it was going to be my very first concert.

            Once Friday evening came, I grouped up with some friends and headed over. The line to get in wrapped around to the back parking lot and ended on the sidewalk on the main road. We finally made it in, and I was amazed at how a huge stage like that could be set up in the span of a day. People crowded and pushed and shoved their way through one another trying to find the perfect spot, but once the music started, everyone stopped moving so much and enjoyed.

            I personally am not a huge fan of country music, but I really enjoyed the concert overall. While I was impressed by the music, especially the cover they did of Walk the Moon’s Shut Up and Dance with Me, I was more interested in the things that you wouldn’t really think about. For example, I watched the people running on and off stage to take pictures, get Mr. Currington’s guitar and go back and get the next one ready and back to him, or to escort someone off the stage. All of those workers had to be pretty spot on to be in the right place at the right time, and it made me wonder if they had practiced this. I was also intrigued by the lights with all the different colors, their movements, the smoke, and different styles from swaying to strobe. I’m guessing that all of the lights were programmed to move and change that way beforehand, which would have probably been pretty complicated to set up. The people in charge of setting the lights would have had to know which songs Mr. Currington was playing and how long they lasted and what mood the lights should give and what colors would work best and how they should move and when the smoke machine should be turned on and how long that should be turned on and then program the lights to do all of that. Lots of work, but the lights were probably my favorite part. It also shocked me with of the intensity of the music; it was so loud the ground was vibrating. I could only imagine how loud it was on stage, and that lead me to another question of how the performers deal with that and also how well built the speakers must be made to be able to handle that sort of output. All of the different elements and complicated bits and pieces of the setup process made me more appreciative of the concert as a whole.

           Overall, it was fun to see how happy everyone was as they cheered, sang, and danced along with the songs. I had a great time, and I know my friends and all the other fans that came had a great time as well. It was an awesome experience, and I look forward to what ETSU has in store for us next!