TobyMac Concert Draws 220 Prospective Students

TobyMac will perform at Houghton College on Sunday, October 11, along with artists Britt Nicole, Colton Dixon, and Hollyn on his “This Is Not a Test” tour.

TobyMac, a Christian hip-hop artist with two Grammy awards and Billboard Music awards, is known for songs like “City on Our Knees”, “Eye on It”, and “Speak Life.” Accompanying TobyMac is Nicole, a Grammy-nominated Christian pop artist, recognized for her songs “The Lost Get Found”, “All This Time”, and “Ready or Not.” Dove Award-winning Christian rock artist, Dixon, was made famous for his appearance on American Idol and is now known for songs such as “Through All of It”, “Never Gone”, and “You Are.” Also on the tour is Hollyn, an upcoming Christian recording artist who is featured on TobyMac’s most recent album, This Is Not a Test.

The concert will be the first of the 2015-2016 academic year and is the second concert to be held in the Kerr-Pegula Field House. According to Marshall Green, Community and Public Relations Specialist, the concert “will be a sold out show at just over 4,000” with “only a few select tickets left.” Senior Lizzie Yordy said, “I thought it was cool that a big-name artist like TobyMac, and even Colton Dixon were coming to Houghton. It’s good advertising for Houghton in a sense.” Sophomore Connor Barnes stated “Initially I was extremely excited just because he’s my favorite Christian artist and I thought it was really cool that a school as small as ours was able to bring in an artist that big.  After the Tenth Avenue North concert last year, when they asked for recommendations for artists to come the next year, I actually wrote down TobyMac, so I’m pumped that he’s actually able to come this year.”

The concert also falls on the first Highlander Preview Day of the year, which is on Monday, October 12, so prospective high school students who register for the visit day will receive a free ticket to the concert.  According to Betsy Rutledge, Assistant Director of Admission Events and Office Operations, Highlander Preview Day is “what was formerly known as ‘Encounter Day’” where prospective students will attend chapel, participate in a class, and get a first look at the Houghton campus.

Rutledge said “We always have a visit day on Columbus Day because high school students are off school.  When Kingdom Bound Ministries and Houghton were first talking about hosting a large concert the day before Columbus Day, we in the Admission Office got really excited because we knew it would be a good opportunity for prospective students to come to campus, enjoy the concert, meet our current students, stay overnight, and experience a little bit of what Houghton has to offer them.”  The Highlander Preview Day will bring in 220 students and their families, the “largest prospective student visit in Houghton’s history” according to Rutledge.

Prospective students will attend the concert Sunday night and stay overnight with current Houghton students, having their visit day activities on the following day.  Barnes said, “I think that’s good first of all because we can get people to visit but at the same time it’s something new, a new type of concert that students here can go to too, so that’s cool.”

The concert will be held in the Kerr-Pegula Field House on October, 11 at 6 p.m.