Students commune on Landis Green following Pool Kids’ performance.
Photo Submitted by Karlyn Sykes.
After a day dedicated to service, Florida State University students gathered at Landis Green to support another facet of their community: Tallahassee’s underground music scene. The Live on Landis concert took place on FSU’s campus Saturday at 6 p.m. and served as the official after party of The Big Event, Tallahassee’s largest student-run community service project.
The outdoor concert hosted by Club Downunder was created to give students a fun and safe way to celebrate their day of service while also exposing them to some of the city’s best local talent. Founded in 2001, Club Downunder is FSU’s student-run programming board which books artists and coordinates talent for various events on and off campus.
“We plan concerts, lectures, comedy, special events all kinds of events for students and the general public. We have events like this on Landis, at Moore, the Wilbury off campus, but it's all planned by students,” Kassadie Nieto, a studio art major at FSU and concert buyer for Club Downunder, said.
The Live on Landis series featured several artists with connections to Florida A&M University as well as FSU, including rapper Bachi and indie rock bands Sage Monkey and Pool Kids. Pizza was also provided and attendees were offered blankets, bubbles and lawn games to engage in between sets.
“We kind of wanted to do a mix of different genres. We had indie rock and hip-hop artists and we just wanted to have a fun time out here where people could bring their dogs and play games but also listen to music and eat food,” Nieto added .
FSU alum and lead singer of Pool Kids Christine Goodwyne shared the importance of events like these to expose Tallahassee residents to new artistry in their community.
“A lot of people who go to school at FSU and the other colleges around town don’t know about the underground music scene. Having events like this, especially on Landis, is great exposure to people who don’t normally know what house venue shows are happening,” Goodwyne said. “There are random people hanging out at Landis and they now get to see a band like us and then they know about us and maybe they’ll find out about other shows and it’s just great for the music community.”
Community and fellowship is essential for a series like this to continue to grow Tallahassee’s music community. For FSU student Rylie Slaybaugh, it was as simple as coming out to support a friend.
“I came because I’m friends with Bachi. I was hanging out with him earlier today so I came out to see him,” Slaybaugh said. “Supporting any local artist is important and seeing as how Tallahassee has super cool talent it’s a great experience. I haven’t seen Pool Kids live, I came for Bachi and saw Pool Kids and now I know them and I’ll go to more shows and meet more people there.”
Club Downunder clearly plays an important role in connecting the community with new musical talent. Just last month it helped sponsor the Intranet 3.0 concert series hosted at The Wilbury and have many events in store.