MACON – Mercer University's eighth annual Bearstock outdoor music festival returns to Tattnall Square Park for the fifth consecutive year on Saturday, with a lineup of bands performing from 1-11 p.m.
The festival, organized by student programming board QuadWorks, will be headlined by alternative Christian rock band Relient K and electro hip-hop duo Timeflies.
Since its formation in 1998, Relient K has spanned the genres of alternative rock, Christian rock, pop and punk. The band has released nine studio albums, seven EPs, two Christmas albums and one collection of rarities. Two of the group's albums, Mmhmm (2004)and Five Score and Seven Years Ago (2007), reached the top 15 of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and the band has sold over 2 million records and been awarded three RIAA-certified gold records. Relient K received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Rock Gospel Album and has earned two Dove Awards. The band's most recent album, Collapsible Lung, was released on July 2, 2013.
The music of Timeflies cannot be described in a single genre, as Rob “Rez” Resnick and Cal Shapiro combine elements of hip-hop, pop, electro, R&B and rap in their music. Resnick got an early start in production after building a studio in his basement for multiple high school bands. He plays several instruments, including drums, guitar and piano. Shapiro has been singing and freestyling since high school. Resnick was the drummer and Shapiro was the singer for a blues, funk and hip-hop band called The Ride, before the two teamed up to form Timeflies in October 2010. Their latest album, After Hours, was released on April 29 of last year and reached No. 3 on the iTunes overall chart and No. 1 on the iTunes pop chart. The album includes collaborations with T-Pain, Fabulous and Katie Sky.
The daylong event is free and open to the public, with a variety of bands and food vendors to suit most every taste. Alcohol will not be permitted in Tattnall Square Park.
The schedule of performances is as follows:
1 p.m. Rewind Retry 1:45 p.m. Wire Method 2:30 p.m. Charlie and the Foxtrots 3:15 p.m. The Captain 4:10 p.m. Dalmatian 5 p.m. Radio Birds 5:55 p.m. Electric Sons 6:45 p.m. Emily Earle 7:50 p.m. Relient K 9:30 p.m. Timeflies
