Getting together at 7 a.m. to prepare for the day ahead of them, Connor Baade and Adam Mayer had a breakfast for champions — biscuits and gravy, or as Baade called it, “the only way to start the day.”
Spearheading and managing the Sperry Vacationland College Tour’s stop at USC on Thursday, Baade and Mayer would be spending the rest of their day continuing to promote the concert series, handing out promotional items and communicating with band members.
“We’ve been going since early this morning, but it’s been an absolute blast,” Baade said. “Time has flown by.”
The four bands headlining the series — Manchester Orchestra, MisterWives, The Mowgli’s and Vacationer — will be traveling to three other colleges in the Southeast to play free concerts.
Mayer, a third-year exercise science student and president of Carolina Productions, said that Sperry Top-Sider reached out to CP to coordinate the series, and that the event came at no cost for the university. This series is the second for Sperry, and the first time it has come to colleges on the east coast.
“They paid for everything, and we worked more on the student side, doing PR work and getting the word out about the event,” Mayer said.
By the end of the event, Mayer estimated that almost 1,500 students came to Vacationland, whether they played games and won prizes during the day or watched the bands perform at night.
Sperry sent a crew to begin setting up the event on Wednesday morning, and worked on breaking down the set through Thursday night, Mayer said.
Students also received free promotional items from Sperry, including towels, tote bags, cups, socks, t-shirts and frisbees, according to Baade, a second-year sports and entertainment management student and CP’s concerts coordinator.
“It was so much fun to work with them, and see how excited they were to meet students,” Baade said. “They were passionate about creating a fun atmosphere and the relationship we built with them helped make it such a great event.”
Speaking on the success of the event, Baade also said that Carolina Productions will be looking to sponsor similar kinds of events in the future.
“It’s definitely a direction we all want to go. The music festival atmosphere is different and exciting, and offers a wider range of music than a normal event,” Baade said.
Along with passing on the word about the concert series, Carolina Productions members also helped hand out promotional items and work the daytime events before the performances.
“We interacted with students and made them feel welcome,” Baade said.
Security was also present at the event, with Columbia Police Department and USC Police stationed around the main stage on Greene Street.
According to Baade, the band members helped make the process run more smoothly as well.
“The bands were awesome and fun to work with. It was my first major concert, which was intimidating at first, but they put me at ease and were excited to be here with us,” Baade said.
“They watched each other perform and were friends, and it was fun to see them interact.”
Now that the Vacationland College Tour is over, Mayer and Baade are already looking at making future Carolina Productions events as successful. Saying that the concert series set the bar really high, the organization is now gearing up for its next major spring concert, which will be officially announced March 31.
Kicking off his Sperrys and rubbing his sore feet, Baade was already looking toward the future.
“We try to top our events every time,” he said. “It’s a fun challenge.”