Florida State University’s Homecoming week is quickly approaching, with the first activity happening this Friday, Oct. 15. The week will consist of interactive and social activities all over campus and Tallahassee, such as a day at the Rez, Spirit Nights, festivals and more!
This past Monday, the organization released who will be headlining for the main event of Homecoming Live on Friday, Oct. 22, and it is none other than the band Grouplove.
The band will be playing in the Tucker Center, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and the performance starting at 8 p.m. The night will begin with student performers, moving on to the crowning of FSU’s newest Chief and Princess with Grouplove as the last act of the event!
Students at FSU can register to get tickets for free with a valid FSU ID, but they are limited. Students of Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College will have to pay $15 for tickets bought in advance and $20 the day of the show—also with a valid student ID.
If you do not attend any of the schools listed above or if those tickets sell out and you can’t resist, general admission tickets will also be sold for $20, being $25 if purchased the day of, and reserved seating will be $30, or $35 if purchased the day of the event. Just search up FSU Homecoming Live, click Homecoming live tickets under ticket information, and from there you can select an FSU student or buy a ticket based upon seating price.
But let’s get into the band: Who is Grouplove?
The band consists of five members: Sean Gadd (bass guitarist), Ben Homola (drums), Hannah Hooper (keyboard and vocalist), Andrew Wessen (guitar and vocalist) and Christian Zucconi (guitarist).
The initial band members were brought together in 2009 simply by interwoven relationships and have since released five studio albums and two EPs. The group is most well known for their song “Tongue Tied,” released back in 2011. The Billboard charts reported that the song peaked at number seven within the same year it was released and stayed on the charts for 45 weeks. Yet 10 years later, the song has consistently maintained relevancy through commercials, movie appearances, Tik Tok trends and more.
However, the group has seen its share of rough patches, as it is reported that in 2016 one of the founding members and producers of the band, Ryan Rabin, quit. This resulted in them hiring Benjamin Homola to take his place, but they continued to make music and have their band unite them.
Despite further obstacles like Hannah Hooper having to get brain surgery in 2019 and the constrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020, the group has still done well for itself and continued creating music.
The band’s latest work includes their newest album, This is This, released in March of this year, and a new single, “You Oughta Know,” released in July.
The group has caused quite the stir on campus. Raegan Gioe, a junior at FSU, has seen the band perform before and voices her excitement for the performance. “They were so interactive with the crowd and were genuinely so excited to be there performing…I have been to many festivals and their set was by far the best one I have ever been to…It was definitely the most upbeat, [and] fun concert,” she explained their music to be a mixture of indie, alternative and pop. “Grouplove’s songs give me such an adrenaline rush.”
At the time, tickets have yet to sell out, but make sure to mark your calendars for Oct. 22 and get them while they are still available!
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