A flyer for the event. Credit: Courtesy of The Ohio State University
The Ohio State Marching Band is slated to thunder into the Schottenstein Center this Thursday for Dot the Schott, its annual Hometown Concert.
This concert-band-style event is a longstanding tradition at OSU that gives the marching band an opportunity to show off its musical talent and the visually stimulating performances it is so well known for outside of the context of football.
“It’s an opportunity for us to present all these great tunes that people love,” said Michael Smith, assistant director of the marching and athletic bands at OSU. “There is a significant amount of people who love the band separate from the football team. This is an opportunity for those folks to get the music in a concert setting away from the football games.”
Dave Redelberger, director of interactive marketing at Schottenstein Center and on the marketing team for the Hometown Concert, said he agreed with Smith.
“It’s really the band’s chance to shine,” he said. “It’s their opportunity to be the focal point and let the music they’ve been working hard on all year really be heard.”
This year’s concert will include pieces from previous halftime shows including music from “James Bond” and “Back to the Future.” The band will also play classic OSU anthems.
In recognition of “Hang on Sloopy” turning 50 this year, Rick Derringer, a member of The McCoys who released the song in 1965, will be making an appearance.
Prior to last year, the Hometown Concert was held at the Franklin County Veterans Memorial in downtown Columbus. But after the auditorium was demolished, TBDBITL had to relocate.
“One of our goals was always to have this event on campus,” Redelberger said. “Campus is the home of the Buckeyes and now the students have great access to the concert.”
Smith also said he believes the Schottenstein Center provides a better atmosphere for the Hometown Concert.
“The Veterans Memorial was a fine auditorium, but with the Schott, we can fit more people and do some staging as far as lighting and projecting stuff on screens. It just provides a little more flexibility,” Smith said.
Andrew Hartstein is a third-year in biology who plays sousaphone in the OSU marching band. This will be his second year participating in the Hometown Concert.
As a member of the band, Hartstein said he values the opportunity to stand apart from the marching aspect of performing and focus primarily on playing music.
“This is an important tradition for TBDBITL because it gives people an opportunity to see the marching band in a different kind of context,” Hartstein said. “While the band is on the field, it seems that more people are focused on the marching aspect of band and putting on a ‘YouTube-worthy’ performance. By only focusing on the music, it gives people a different perspective of our band.”
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
