MACON — QuadWorks, the campus activities board of Mercer University, will host its second annual Bearstock Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, April 18. The all-day concert is free and open to the public and will feature 14 bands on two stages. The music begins at 12 p.m. on Porter Patch at Mercer’s historic Macon campus and will feature international recording artists Gym Class Heroes, along with up-and-comers Chester French and 12 other artists. Gym Class Heroes is expected to perform at 9 p.m.
Gym Class Heroes’ single, “Cupid’s Chokehold,” reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart and climbed to the top of charts all over the world. In 2007, the band took home the MTV Video Music award for Best New Artist. The band’s latest album is The Quilt, which they describe as not just “expanding on their unique blend of hip-hop, rock, soul and punk, but transcending it.”
Chester French, a duo that formed after two students met in the cafeteria at Harvard University, has gained a significant amount of attention in the music world without having released a full-length album. After spending their years in college making music, Maxwell Drummey and D.A. Wallach were signed by famed artist and producer Pharrell to his label Star Trak. Chester French’s debut album, Love the Future, is expected to be released later this year.
The bands and artists scheduled to perform include Macon favorites City Council and the Paper Street Band (Hip Hop/Pop/Rock), oh dorian (Folk Rock/Indie/Lyrical), Floco Torres (Hip Hop/Psychedelic/Experimental) and Al King (Hip Hop/Electronic), Abby Owens (Country/Rock) and Roly-bots (Rock). The Key (Modern Day 90s) and Gran Trizz (Alternative/Jazz/Pop), both of which include several Mercer students, also are scheduled to perform. Other performers include: Ocean is Theory (Rock/Indie) from Woodstock, Copacetic (Easy Listening/Reggae/Psychedelic) from Canton and The Less (Rock) from Atlanta.
For more information, visit http://www.myspace.com/bearstock09.
