Rock band Hootie and the Blowfish, rap artist Rah Digga and alternative singer Daniel Cage will perform during a free concert sponsored by Rock the Vote and Wake Forest University on Oct. 11 at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum Annex. One mile away, at Wake Forest’s Wait Chapel, the presidential debate between George W. Bush and Al Gore will take place the same evening.
Rock the Vote is a non-partisan group that works to increase youth participation in the political process. The Oct. 11 concert is part of the group’s Election 2000 Bus Tour that features on-site voter registration.
Organizers are preparing for a capacity crowd of 4,200 and invitations have been extended to the Bush and Gore campaigns, and to third party candidates.
The music will begin at 7 p.m. The bands will break from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. as the crowd watches the live telecast of the debate from Wake Forest’s Wait Chapel. The event will end at midnight.
Yahoo.com will provide a live Webcast of the evening’s highlights. Viewers will take part in the Doritos’ “Loud Lounge,” a political talk show featuring young celebrities and political activists who will receive questions from the audience and over the Internet. Organizers will announce soon who the celebrities will be.
The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. No alcohol, beverage containers, coolers or backpacks will be allowed.
Parking will be available in the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds midway which is located off Shorefair Drive. It will also be available in a lot at the corner of Shorefair Drive and Deacon Boulevard. Parking will cost $5 at both locations.
Hootie and the Blowfish is a winner of Rock the Vote’s Patrick Lippert Award, an award given annually to artists who use their talents to reach out to their communities. One of the most honored groups in the 1990s, the South Carolina-based band has won two Grammys, an MTV Music Award for Best New Video and the Best Rock Group award from the American Music Awards.
The band also played at the 1997 Presidential Inauguration celebration.
Named by Time magazine as the “hardest, hottest new female MC in hip hop,” and by the New York Post as “hip hop’s new heroine,” Rah Digga hit the national music scene last April with her debut album “Imperial.”
Rock the Vote is in the final stages of a 25-city tour featuring rock artists, political speakers and celebrities. The tour and other activities comprise the nation’s largest voter registration drive geared to 18 to 25-year-olds. The tour is sponsored nationally by Doritos and E-Campus.com.
For more information, visit www.rockthevote.org or http://debate.wfu.edu.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Events, University Announcement
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