Andrew Lafrance

This weekend will bring an exciting event to SDSU when OK Go performs a free outdoor concert on Sept. 5.

Nick Wendell, Assistant Director of The Union for Student Activities, said the concert plans came up quickly. “We as a campus wanted to have something for students to do on their first weekend here. OK Go is a recognizable name and a band that many students enjoy.”

Wendell emphasized that it is important for students, especially freshmen, to stay on campus during the weekend. “You are able to connect with people on the weekends at SDSU. This is something to do with your old friends or with people you have just met.”

The plan for OK Go to come to SDSU was a relatively recent decision. “We submitted an offer to some different bands to come and play for us,” said Wendell, “but we didn’t expect to have such a big name band come to Brookings on such short notice.”

It can often be difficult, Wendell said, to succeed in getting larger bands to come to South Dakota. “The location of Brookings is fairly distant from any big cities, so we were very pleased when OK Go made time in their schedule to come to our campus.”

The event is free for all students and will be held outside on the green next to the Campanile. Saturday’s concert will also feature the Nick Rallis Band, from Sioux Falls, as the opening act.

Wendell says there will be free ‘festival style’ food available. “We are going to have pretzels, popcorn and walking tacos for everyone who attends,” he said. “It should be a fun outdoor event.”

Students around campus are eager for Saturday to arrive. Kirstin Huot, a freshman Civil Engineering student from Rapid City, S.D., said she saw OK Go’s treadmill-hopping music video on YouTube. “The treadmill video was fantastic,” she said. “I did not know SDSU would have such well known bands coming to campus already.”

Huot said she was excited to attend Saturday’s concert with her boyfriend.

The Nick Rallis Band will begin performing at 7:30 p.m. on the Sylvan Green, which is located right beside the Campanile. OK Go will begin their concert at approximately 9:00 p.m.