By Kalena Reynolds | Arts & Life Editor
Baylor has brought a variety of entertainment to campus this year, including Christian, country and comedy. The list just expanded with Old Dominion. The country group with a cult following is set to arrive in Waco to headline Family Weekend.
With 4.6 million monthly followers on Spotify currently, the band has a multitude of hits such as “One Man Band,” “Memory Lane” and “Snapback.”
The group is a “6-time and reigning Academy of Country Music, 5-time and current Country Music Association Vocal Group” and a “People’s Choice Country Music Artist of the Year nominee,” according to their website.
The band is set to perform at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 18 at Foster Pavilion. Presale for Baylor parents and Bear Foundation members will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT on Thursday. Baylor parents will receive a promo code via email, and Bear Foundation members can log in to their accounts during the time slot.
General public tickets will be available starting 10 a.m. on Friday on the ticket website.
Jason Cook, Baylor vice president for marketing and communications and chief marketing officer, said this will be the largest production in Foster Pavilion to date.
“In terms of staging, lighting, AV, video screens, this will be the full Old Dominion experience,” Cook said.
Jason Rittenberry, president and CEO of Tristar Production Group, has utilized his company’s strength in producing national headlining tours to scale the Old Dominion set to fit Foster Pavilion.
“Any show that they’ve seen in Foster is going to be like nothing they’ve seen before,” Rittenberry said. “Because of the number of lighting fixtures, speakers, the number of LED walls, the cameras, pyro — all of those things that Old Dominion brings that really no one else has brought to Foster yet.”
Cook elaborated that Old Dominion will bring an element to Waco students have yet to experience.
“Live music has the ability to bring people together and have a good time,” Cook said. “We think that Old Dominion is a great manifestation of an artist who has the ability to bring people together and take them to a different time and place.”
Co-Founder of Noise New Media Steve Richo said their goal was to bring 10 full-scale concerts and comedy events to Foster Pavilion over the next two years.
“We currently have seven or eight of those; we’ve already either held them, or we’ve got them booked,” Richo said. “We’ve got them booked, or we’re going to announce a few coming up.”
Richo added that Old Dominion’s multigenerational following will provide entertainment for both students and parents.
“We are catering to an audience that is both young and a little older, parents’ age,” Richo said. “What a stellar band to bring in for Family Weekend and really engage our parents of our new freshmen with an A-list country act.”
Cook said the university is still in the process of locking in an opener for the show. However, Baylor is also in serious talks with multiple R&B artists, which they plan to bring to Foster Pavilion in early 2027.
