Get ready to wear your cowboy hats for not one, but two country acts at this year’s Gator Growl homecoming concert on Oct. 4.
On Aug. 23, UF Homecoming and Gator Growl announced country group LANCO as the opening act for this year’s concert on Flavet Field.
Country singer Chase Rice was announced earlier this week as the headliner, with UF alumnus and YouTuber Cameron ‘Scooter’ Magruder serving as host.
LANCO, a five-person country band from Nashville, Tennessee, rose to fame with their hit single “Greatest Love Story,” in March 2017. They were the first country group in over a decade to appear at the top of the Billboard Country Albums Chart with a debut album, said Corben Champoux, Gator Growl producer.
Champoux said she couldn’t be more excited.
“We are ready to get our show on the road,” she said.
UF Homecoming reached out to LANCO via an agent three months ago, Champoux said. UF Homecoming is paying $52,000 to book LANCO. Chase Rice will be paid $65,000 and host Magruder will receive $5,000, Champoux said.
“I think they’re just a very unique band and they're greater performers live,” Champoux said. “I think they really encapture what students and alumni want to see for this year.”
Not all students are as thrilled about the announcement, though.
Alexandria Salis, an 18-year-old UF finance freshman, shared the news on her Instagram story with a caption calling this news “the biggest disappointment.” She is a music fanatic and was shocked that UF Homecoming picked performers she hasn’t heard of, Salis said
As a freshman, Salis was looking forward to partaking in the long-running UF tradition. After seeing the announcement, she says she might skip it.
“I was super excited to jump into these huge events UF is famous for,” she said. “But now I have no interest in going.”
