Rockstock is happening this Friday on campus, as well as Hawk Wild week which is bringing fun events to students throughout the week. A farmers market took place on campus Monday, as well as a rock hunt for prizes on Tuesday. This Thursday, there will be an event in which students can send in a photo of them in Chief’s gear or a photo of them at the draft to win points that go towards a raffle.

But of course, Rockstock is the event on the top of the billing. Rockstock will consist of a carnival from 4:30-8:00 p.m., with a number of games and fun activities followed by a musical act. Cody Izner, a member of the Student Activity Board, gave some insight to the whole week and what goes into planning an event like Rockstock. Izner shared that a concert chair is appointed at the beginning of the year to get a head start on planning Rockstock, in addition to all members contributing to put it together. I was also informed that while previous carnivals at Rockstock have been mostly student-run, this year a professional carnival company was brought in to create an upscaled version of the Rockhurst carnival.

As far as the two musical acts go, the opener is Nelly’s Echo, a solo artist who specializes in acoustic music, especially acoustic covers of songs. The headliner is a country music band called Lanco. Lanco have several charting singles and have also been nominated for an American Music Award. Their 2017 song The Greatest Love Story was certified two times platinum, and the 2018 song Born to Love You was also certified platinum. The Greatest Love Story is a fairly standard acoustic country song with the lead singer stretching his country- style voice over a series of guitars and drumbeats. Born to Love You takes a much more pop-centric approach with a fast-paced repeating chorus and equally as fast and busy verses.

Izner spoke on the process of choosing a band. He said it was an act that they could get and that some of the students at Rockhurst were familiar with. The band is also very palatable, ensuring a pleasant experience for people, whether they are fans of country music or not.

Overall, Rockstock is an event that students shouldn’t miss, Not only is it filled with fun activates and a great series of musical acts, but it also marks bringing a hectic year at Rockhurst to a great close with a fun event that everyone can participate in. Rockstock is this Friday beginning at 4:30 p.m., and it would be my professional recommendation that you do not miss this end of year extravaganza.