VGR hosts back-to-school party with concerts

For eight years, Village Green Records has celebrated the return of students to Ball State’s campus with a back-to-school party. Filled with an evening of diverse musical acts, Saturday will mark the first of two major shows hosted by VGR this year with their Back to School Show.

“There are two really big shows in the year, this is one of our biggest ones,” VGR owner Travis Harvey said. “I try to kick off the year really big for the new people that are here, and also for people returning.”

Having such a big event early in the year allows Harvey to provide an evening of entertainment while also introducing people to Muncie’s artistic community.

This year, the back-to-school event will feature a lineup of 10 completely different bands and DJs with genres ranging from hip-hop to punk rock to folk music.

Harvey handpicked each band in the hopes of creating a diverse event filled with creativity. Not only do the genres of each band differ wildly from each other, but they also come from a variety of places around Indiana, giving attendee’s a mixture of sounds and influences.

Among the bands playing are an ensemble Afro-punk band from Indianapolis called Sweet Poison Victim, Bloomington band Triptides and a “wacky” one man band, DMA.

Harvey books the shows with some simple criteria: each act has to have soul and creativity.

“I want to try and emphasize the type of music that is special and comes from the heart,” Harvey said.

Also included in the lineup is Rodeo Ruby Love, who has played many times at VGR in the past. Having recently finished two separate tours opening for Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto, they’ll be returning for the back to school bash.

“They’ve been doing really good for themselves, and they’ve made a name for themselves,” Harvey said. “To have them both come back and play here after playing big venues is really special.”

The back to school show also includes catering by Greek’s Pizzeria, the local food truck Slop On Top and coverage by Ball State radio station WCRD.

The first band takes the stage at 5 p.m.