What started out as an unfortunate beginning to one of this year anticipated events, turned into something that was fun for everybody to watch and experience for those participating.
Of the 11 groups that had originally signed up to perform at Airband, a quarter of them dropped out at the last minute because of lack of preparation and disagreement with the rules.
What most students don’t know is that every other year the “Res Life” board at Milligan rotates the rules. Last year there was not a theme for music and mashups were allowed, which meant this year the theme was “pre-90’s” and no mashups.
Many participants disagreed with these rules and didn’t think it was fair to not be able to use mashups for their performance, so groups such as Joe Matherly’s, a senior at Milligan, pulled their performance from the lineup.
In order to bring back the participation levels that last year had for Airband signups, the student in charge of the event, Kaylynn Blosser, decided to make some initiatives for more students and groups to sign up.
For the first time ever, Blosser initiated a $200 cash prize for the winners to take home– and immediately more groups signed up to participate. After talking with the board, Blosser decided to remove the “pre-90’s” rule and later the rule for no mashups. Matherly’s group had previously made a mashup for their performance before they took themselves out of the lineup and upon hearing the reconsideration of the rules, joined the lineup again.
Airband was a night of excitement and laughs, as many groups turned out and performed to hits that we all hear on the radio today. The male RA’s performed a mashup of rap hits, all dressed as different popular artists.
One of the biggest hits of the night was the final performance of last year’s champions, “Older, Slower, and Lower.” The women’s soccer team had the loudest cheers from the audience as they were “let out of the nursing home” for one last stage performance together.
The week or two of disagreements about rules for this years Airband turned out to be insignificant as the night was a hit for not only the sold out audience, but also for the students participating.