Texas Concert University:

A timeline of entertainment at TCU

By Ella M. Mercer

Students shine their flashlights at the Flo Rida concert in 2021. (Photo courtesy @theendtcu Instagram)

From Lady A to Flo Rida, TCU’s annual fall concert has been a treasured memory for many first-year students.

Goo Goo Dolls performed what could be called a precursor to recent fall concerts in 1999. Nearly 10 years later, Pat Green performed to commemorate the opening of the Brown-Lupton University Union, and the turnout convinced Student Government Association (SGA) to make the event an annual tradition.

The show has celebrated fall football, homecoming, family weekend and university milestones.

As the concert grew in clout and in size, SGA struggled to keep up with the increasing prices of popular artists. SGA and the university have both been sponsors of the show in years past.

The fall concert has changed locations, hosted controversial artists and cost SGA hundreds of thousands of dollars. But according to student body officers every year, the show must go on.

Goo Goo Dolls came to TCU while touring college campuses on the MP3.com Music and Technology Tour, according to The Skiff. Students had to pay $15 for tickets to the show in the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, which has since been remodeled into the Schollmaier. (Photo courtesy of @googoodollsofficial via Instagram)

A “highlight” of Howdy Week, a program similar to Frogs First, in 2002 was the Vanilla Ice concert, according to The Skiff. The event, sponsored by Red Bull, was coordinated by the Programming Council, a branch of SGA. (Sarah McClellan/Photo Editor)

Pat Green brought the fall concert back to TCU for the grand opening of the BLUU in September 2008. It marked the beginning of a new tradition planned by SGA.

Then-SGA President Thomas Pressly, ‘09, said he was so pleased with the event that it should continue.

“Big events really do draw people and we need to focus on those events and cut out some of the smaller events to afford it,” Pressly said. (TCU 360)

After the Texas State game, students and community members traded their football tickets for entrance into the Commons for the OneRepublic and Hot Chelle Rae concert. The show, planned by SGA’s Programming Council, hosted about 3,500 audience members. (Photo courtesy of TCU via YouTube)

After increasing the student body fee from $24 to $45 per semester, SGA went big to celebrate the 100th year TCU was located in Fort Worth. Lady A, formerly Lady Antebellum, was a “long shot” for the programming team, said Brad Thompson, then-director of student activities. But after months of planning, 6,000 people turned out, nearly doubling the previous year’s attendance. (Photo courtesy of @ladya via Instagram)

SGA sent out a survey that determined students wanted an alternative rock band for their 2011 fall concert. Over 5,000 students came out to see The Fray and TCU alumnus Tim Halperin, ‘10, a contestant on American Idol.

“The crowd stretched from the beginning of the grass in the Commons to as far back as the sidewalk between Samuelson and King Halls at the peak of the night,” according to TCU 360. (Photo courtesy of TCU via YouTube)

The brand new Amon G. Carter Stadium welcomed Blake Shelton during its “opening week” festivities. Instead of being in the Campus Commons, the Kelly Alumni Center lawn hosted “a strong student presence,” according to TCU 360.

Blake Shelton tweeted before performing at TCU in 2012.

Students had to wear wristbands to attend. Former TCU football head coach Gary Patterson gifted Shelton with a TCU jersey. (Photo courtesy of @blakeshelton via Instagram)

The fall concert stayed on the Kelly Center lawn for Little Big Town in 2013. A donor paid for this and the 2012 show, but SGA helped pick the opener, Green River Ordinance. (Photo courtesy TCU This Week Archives)

In 2014, SGA started hosting the fall concert again. “SGA is glad to take it off the hands of the administration and allow them to contribute time to other things,” said then-Student Body President Cody Westphal, ‘15.

He also said that SGA had a discussion to compromise on an artist that would please the most students. Booking the following artists were more difficult than booking Shelton and Little Big Town, said Westphal, but students wanted a change of pace.

Jason Derulo brought the annual fall concert back to the Commons before he started his 2014 tour. The show had “a different vibe” than previous years. Six women were brought on stage for a twerk contest, according to TCU 360.

DJ Papo, Derulo’s deejay, said, “Everyone was fearless and the energy was crazy.” (Photo courtesy of @texaschristianuniversity via Instagram)

TCU was the first stop on Hunter Hayes’ college tour in 2015. Over 5,000 students attended the show in the Commons. Student volunteers from SGA and theEnd prepared for this show, which Hayes called “one of the coolest vibes we’ve ever felt.” (TCU 360)

SGA spent over $150,000 in savings on the first spring concert they ever hosted. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis changed locations last minute from the newly remodeled Schollmaier to the Commons to accommodate the crowd. (Laura Belpedio/Staff Writer)

Mike Posner headlined the 2016 fall show. The “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” singer performed on SGA’s dime. (Photo courtesy of Rich Fury/AP)

ESPN College Gameday took a trip to TCU on the same day as X Ambassadors headlined the 2017 fall show. There is little record of the concert, but videos show people building the stage in the Commons behind the College Gameday set. (Photo courtesy of @texaschristianuniversity via Instagram)

A month earlier, theEnd hosted DNCE for a show in the Commons. The club started coming into its own as it hosted artists and celebrities more often than SGA. (Photo courtesy of @theendtcu via Instagram)

Last night's concert in the Commons was AMAZING! @dnce

TCU posted a video from the DNCE concert on Facebook.

Homecoming shifted focus to a WALK THE MOON concert instead of a traditional parade in 2018. Games, food and other activities were canceled because of bad weather, but the show went on. TCU FrogFest advertised the concert for both students and alumni. (Photo courtesy of @theendtcu via Instagram)

Dustin Lynch performed in the commons for SGA’s first spring concert since 2016. (Photo courtesy of @tcusga via Instagram)

Kelly Lee, associate director of student activities, compared bringing talent to campus to a revolving door. “Everything has to line up perfectly,” Lee said.

In 2019, the fall concert was scrapped, and in its place came a week of homecoming and FrogFest activities. SGA and theEnd were trying to blend homecoming, family weekend and the fall concert into a new tradition. Chase Rice performed a welcome concert and Hunter Hayes performed at homecoming. (Photos courtesy @theendtcu, @hunterhayes via Instagram)

DJ Diesel (aka Shaquille O’Neal) would have headlined the canceled Shollmaier Live show, said Lee.

With echoes of lockdown restrictions still ringing in the ears of students and faculty, theEnd sponsored two virtual concerts in 2020: AJR and Jason Derulo. But in the spring, Brett Young came to the stadium to perform for a crowd of students itching to leave isolation. (Photo courtesy of @brettyoungmusic via Instagram)

Brett Young posted about his performance at TCU.

Flo Rida helped students get back into the rhythm of college life. Between 5,000 and 6,000 students attended the show, one of the biggest audiences since 2015. Flo performed on his birthday, yet again turning the fall concert into a celebration.

SGA hired Flo Rida with $170,000 collected from student fees and the rest from savings since there were no SGA-sponsored shows in 2019 and 2020. (Photo courtesy of @theendtcu via Instagram)

Kesha made heads turn in the Commons during the most recent fall concert. SGA spent another $170,000 from student fees to sponsor the $400,000 Kesha concert, and the rest came from savings. (Photo courtesy of @tcusga via Instagram)

Just a few days later, Ludacris revamped the Schollmaier Live show to support TCU men's and women's basketball. (Photo courtesy of @texaschristianuniversity via Instagram)

2023 blended fall concert and homecoming traditions into one big sesquicentennial celebration, with country artist Kelsea Ballerini taking the stage in the Commons for "Frog Fest."

TCU men's and women's basketball hosted yet another Schollmaier Live, this time with hip hop icon Rick Ross. (Shane Manson/TCU 360)

This year, SGA announced rapper Offset will perform at the Kelly Center lawn, a fall concert location that has not been used since Little Big Town took on Funky Town in 2013. (Photo courtesy of @tcusga via Instagram)

Drew and Ellie Holcomb perform at the 2022 Christmas tree lighting. (Photo courtesy of @texaschristianuniversity Instagram)

The Christmas tree lights up the Commons as Drew and Ellie Holcomb fill the space with song. (Photo courtesy of @texaschristianuniversity via Instagram)

The process

Musical guests cannot come to TCU in a moment’s notice. Artist management teams coordinate with the TCU Student Activites office year-round to make events like the fall concert happen.

Some artists start smaller than the fall concert. When Paul Steele, executive partner at Triple 8 Management, was beginning his career as a manager, his team would be in direct contact with sororities or fraternities to plan small shows.

Now, Steele manages Ellie Holcomb and Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, who perform at the Christmas tree lighting. After their first time playing the event, Steele said it was a “no-brainer” when the band decided to return every year. For an event like the tree lighting, Triple 8 contacts TCU directly to coordinate the show.

Unlike the tree lighting however, the fall concert hosts a different artist every year, complicating the process.

“The artist has to want to come here, the money has to work out, the date has to work out,” Thompson said.

Usually, student body officers give Lee a list of artists to they think students want to see. She contacts booking agents months in advance and writes up a contract with the most suitable artist.

“We can’t have students negotiating contracts,” Lee said, so she represents the university when booking talent.

Some artists refuse to play at any college, but Lee still tells the student body officers to “shoot for the stars.”

The one thing that Lee and Thompson have learned from decades of event planning is to be flexible.

“Hope for the best, expect the worst,” Lee said, chuckling with Thompson about the bouts of poor weather and other quick changes they’ve experienced.

“It’s not as easy as it looks,” he said.

No matter the budget, and no matter the curveballs thrown her way, Lee said she is confident that the fall concert will be one that students will enjoy.

Offset will perform this Friday in the Campus Commons.

Associate Director of Student Activities Kelly Lee and Director of Student Activities Brad Thompson sit in Thompson's office under collages of TCU events. (Ella M. Mercer/Staff Writer)

Pictures of events from the 2022-2023 academic year hang in the Student Activities office. (Ella M. Mercer/Staff Writer)