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Photos by Abbie Parr
Playing hit songs like “Parking Lot Party,” “Drinking Class” and “I Don’t Dance,” country singer Lee Brice graced his audience of over 7,000 with a night of music and dancing at Ram Fest 2015 Friday.
When the Country Music Award nominee finally hit the stage, the crowd seemed to know every lyric to his songs.
“This was my second time to see Lee Brice,” said junior Camille Betanze. “The first time I saw him, he waved and threw a guitar pick at me. My heart immediately leaped to love. So I hope that he recognized me.”
Senior Kiera Davis said she was grateful for the opportunity to see Brice at the student-discounted price of $10.
“I have seen Lee Brice multiple times,” Davis said. “It was exciting to see him at CSU, because I got to socialize with my friends and because Lee Brice is a really great artist. And I got to see him for 10 bucks.”
Artists Matt Mahern and Constitutions and Clare Dunn opened for Brice.
Matt Mahern and Constitutions, a local Fort Collins band, kicked off the night with a blues-folk infusion.
“Matt Mahern and Constitutions were really good,” said Laurel Tegteman, a sophomore. “My environmental sociology professor was the one playing the harmonica. It was really cool to watch him.”
Ram Fest 2015 continued with Colorado native Clare Dunn, who brought “Dust Bowl Country” to the stage. Dunn also covered Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” and Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.”
“I had so much fun playing Ram Fest,” Dunn said. “The people here were just so great to play for. The energy was great, so I was able to feed off of it. It was awesome.”
Mckenzie Wright, a sophomore, was intrigued by Dunn’s unique voice.
“She had such a cool rasp to her voice,” said Wright. “The texture of her voice was awesome. She was really interesting to watch.”
The concert was organized by RamEvents. According to Sydney Boyle, external relations and public relations coordinator, the concert cost $200,000 and was paid for by ticket revenue and student fees.
Collegian Reporter Randi Mattox can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter at @randi_mattox.
