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ELKINS – From the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to the southern charm of Nashville, Davis & Elkins College has the entertainment spectrum covered for the 34th annual Deja Vu Music Festival.
Scheduled for Friday and Saturday, the event serves as a celebration of the end of the school year for students and is open to the public.
Hip-hop artists Huey Mack, Colette Carr and Mayo, along with DJ Steve Spin and other featured entertainment, get the party started and keep it going at The McDonnell Center on Friday. Tickets are $15 general admission and attendees must be 18 to enter.
Country music chart-topping artist Dustin Lynch headlines the show on Saturday with special guests Chris Lane and Cover Drive at the Outdoor Amphitheatre. General admission is $20. A two-day pass is available for $30. To purchase tickets online, visit www.dewv.edu/arts-entertainment. Admission is free to D&E students on both days.
On Friday, D&E will roll out the red carpet – literally – to welcome guests to the Club D&E Dance Party preshow at 9 p.m.
“As the Campus Activities Board of Davis & Elkins College gears up for the return of its annual celebration of warm weather and music at the Deja Vu Music Festival, get ready for something this region has not seen – Club D&E: Senators Palace,” said D&E Vice President for Student Affairs Scott Goddard, explaining the McDonnell Center will be transformed into a Hollywood-style club. “The evening will feature Hollywood searchlights, a red carpet preshow atmosphere, Huey Mack, the Transcendence Aerial Dance Team and more.”
The music gets started with the Huey Mack Pretending Perfection Tour featuring special guests hip-hop artists Colette Carr and Mayo.
Huey Mack is currently playing clubs and music festivals up and down the East Coast promoting his new album, “Pretending Perfection.” Even before he hit the road, the album was already a success, debuting at No. 3 on iTunes and No. 8 on Billboard.
The Morgantown native has what some fans call a “cult-like” following. Known for mixtapes “Wish Me Luck” and “A Boy Named Hue,” Mack delivers his audience a charged performance and caters to the crowd with the songs they want to hear.
The party at Club D&E doesn’t end with Mack’s encore. The evening continues with DJ Steve Spin until 2 a.m.
The weekend events pick up again on Saturday with D&E Spirit Day from noon to 4 p.m. The afternoon full of activities includes laser tag on the front campus.
Come evening, the music starts up again.
Gates to the Outdoor Amphitheatre open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. show featuring country chart-topping artist Dustin Lynch with special guests Chris Lane and Cover Drive. In the event of rain, the show will be moved to Myles Center for the Arts Harper-McNeeley Auditorium.
Making a highly anticipated repeat performance at D&E, Cover Drive brings the tropical sounds of its native Barbados to the Deja Vu stage. The band calls their sound “Carib-pop,” a bubbly blend of their Caribbean roots in reggae, dub and soca with happy, hook-laden pop.
Then, country kicks in with up-and-coming artist Chris Lane. An opening act for Florida Georgia Line and Eli Young Band, among others, Lane recently signed with Big Loud Mountain and is currently recording his first EP.
Rolling Stone calls Lynch “The New Hat in Town,” while ELLE magazine has included him in the “Best New Country Music Acts of 2013.”
Fresh off a leg of Keith Urban’s U.S. Light the Fuse Tour, Lynch’s lead single from his upcoming sophomore album, “Where It’s At,” charged out of the gate as the most-added single at country radio stations.
This is a follow-up to Lynch’s self-titled debut album that made its mark at the No. 1 spot on the Country Album Chart in 2012 and produced hits “She Cranks My Tractor” and “Cowboys and Angels,” which surpassed platinum sales and was a No. 2 hit on both Billboard and Mediabase Hot Country Songs charts. It was also one of Billboard’s Top 5 Country Songs of 2012, earning Lynch a 2013 CMT Music Award nod and two 2012 American Country Award nominations.
“Over the years Davis & Elkins College has proven to be a launch pad for emerging artists. For example, Justin Moore, who performed at Deja Vu last year, was named days ago the 2014 Academy of Country Music New Artist of the Year,” Goddard says. “Dustin Lynch appears to be on the same trajectory.
“With Chris Lane and Cover Drive on the bill, there is really something for all musical interests. The Deja Vu Music Festival is the perfect way to celebrate spring in Elkins while listening to some of the hottest talents in music today.”
Now in its 34th year, Deja Vu stared as a “last blast” for the students and has become one of the premier festivals in West Virginia. Artists such as Dierks Bentley, Flogging Molly, Hot Chelle Rae, Justin Moore, O.A.R., Reel Big Fish, Thompson Square, Vanilla Ice and Wale have all graced the Deja Vu stage. Weapons of any kind, fireworks, illegal substances, video cameras, professional photography equipment and pets are prohibited. Outside food and drink is not permitted.
For more information, call the Davis & Elkins College Box Office at 304-637-1255 or email BoxOffice@dewv.edu.
For more information, please visit the D&E website at www.dewv.edu or call 304-637-1243.