College Fest still going strong after 14 years
By Jordan Griffis
Published: Thursday, August 20, 2009
Updated: Thursday, August 20, 2009

Thousands of OSU students have experienced a typical Thursday night at the Tumbleweed.On a Tuesday afternoon, however, when the dance floor is quiet and the bar is empty, Tumbleweed employees are still buzzing with activity in preparation for one of the major music events in the region -- College Fest.The event was created so students could have something to talk about the first week of school and have a kick-off celebration, said Hank Moore, owner of the Tumbleweed Dance Hall and Concert Arena.Days in advance, employees are in the outdoor arena gearing up for this year’s College Fest with a variety of jobs such as painting, cleaning up and leveling off the ground in the arena.Moore said the Tumbleweed’s outdoor arena was created in an ideal location for outdoor shows because it is set in an open field outside town where the ground slopes just enough that the crowd’s energy all funnels toward the performer.Moore also said Miranda Lambert called the Tumbleweed the most outstanding outdoor arena she’s ever played at.The design isn’t the only thing that makes it special. The Tumbleweed has a history of loyal fans.Moore told a story of when Chris LeDoux was scheduled to play on a Sunday night but it began raining that afternoon. Instead of leaving, LeDoux said he would move inside. Customers and employees donned trash bags and began carrying all the gear inside.LeDoux watched from the window of the bus as everyone walked back and forth in the rain making his show possible.He didn’t take the stage until 11 p.m., a few hours later than scheduled, but he played for almost three hours.These are the types of stories the Tumbleweed employees remember and tell years later.“That’s one thing you can say, most people who work here absolutely love their job,” said Jordan Woodruff, a recent OSU graduate and Tumbleweed employee.He said people often come to him at events just to tell him about when they worked at the Tumbleweed in that past, and talk about what has changed.This year’s show features Stoney LaRue, Eli Young Band, No Justice and several other local acts.The Tumbleweed limits the amount of “Nashville acts” it books and focuses on more up-and-coming acts, Moore said.The college crowd has been known to jump on board with local red dirt music in Stillwater before and make local names famous.“College Fest is different than Calf Fry because we don’t target big names, but what the students want,” said Billy Aldridge, manager.