Most people can sing along to the lyrics, "Baby, you're so classic" when it plays through their car stereo speakers, but they might not be able to rattle off the artist of the catchy hit.
"Their first reaction is, 'Who is MKTO?'" Student Activities Council President Ben Mulholland said. "I have had numerous times where I've had to bust out and start singing some of their songs. Then they caught on and said, 'Oh, I didn't know you guys were bringing them.' That's when you start to get a little excitement build up because students finally realize, 'Oh, this isn't the average concert that's usually brought.'"
According to Mulholland, the members of SAC came together at the beginning of the semester and decided they wanted to host a larger music act on Southeast's campus. They started by narrowing down their options; five made the budget cut. SAC's general body board then voted on a final pick. Mulholland said the key factor was to provide students with not only a different musical style typically brought to campus but also one that was most cost effective. MKTO fit the bill.
"MKTO is a good pick for the university because it appeals to more of the student body for the genre that we like," Mulholland said. "The Show Me Center brings a lot of good country artists and classic rock and Christian rock artists to their venue already. We talked to a bunch of students and we did a couple surveys through the Southeast portal and they said they wanted to see more hip-hop, mainstream artists, that kind of appeal to our age and our generation."
MKTO's duo is comprised of Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller, known previously for their roles as best friends on Nickelodeon's TV series "Gigantic." Their first single "Thank You" came out in January 2013. The familiar "Classic" followed in June and was later performed at the 2014 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.
MKTO will perform at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. March 28 at the Show Me Center.
The concert also happened to fall right in line with SAC's annual Spring Fling week and will serve as the finale for the week's activities. Commonly held following spring break, Spring Fling is a week of events dedicated to celebrating the new season and promise of approaching warmer weather.
In terms of future SAC-hosted concerts, Mulholland said it was based on turnout along with the event's cost effectiveness and benefit. The first 100 tickets were given away for free to students and the next 300 purchased were priced at $10 off due to SAC's cost coverage plan. The regular student rate was listed for just $20 as well.
"It is their [the students] dollars that help provide us to bring these acts and to bring the different events that Student Activities Council provides for the student body," Mulholland said. "So we want them to get the whole benefit for their dollars that are already being spent."
Mulholland said SAC hosts a total of at least 45 events in an academic year. He added that this show offers a different weekend option for students, too.
"It helps the students, one to get them out of their dorm room, to meet new people, have a good time on a weekend night, and two it helps us to get students to realize how much work we do for them already and a way for them to see how they can become a part of it in the future if they actually like our events."
Student tickets for the concert are strictly available at the Show Me Center Box Office open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and on presentation of a Southeast student ID.
