For many, the most anticipated event of the year is D-Day.
A night of entertaining music by a nationally known act is quite a break from the pressures of one’s studies.
While the band performing at the annual D-Day event is normally announced around the time of Homecoming this year, the cat’s out of the bag early.
The event, which has brought many nationally recognizable musical acts to campus during recent years, including the Roots, Rusted Root and Toad the Wet Sprocket, will be headlined by Sister Hazel this year.
Sister Hazel will be performing at 9:30 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 27) in the Mitchell Athletic Center. Doors open at 8 p.m., and a special opening act will start at 8:30 p.m.
The event is co-sponsored by DCGA, SAC, and SAO. There is to be no photography, alcohol, smoking or backpacks during the event.
Sister Hazel broke onto the music scene with their 1996 release, Somewhere More Familiar, two years after independently releasing Sister Hazel.
The platinum album spawned two successful singles, “All for You” and “Happy.”
As a result of their chart success, the group headed out onto the road to support their debut album.
The group toured through 1998, with the group reportedly playing 300 shows that year, before returning home to take a rest from the stresses of road life.
However, the group was unable to fully adapt to the pleasures of time off.
In the spring of 1999, the group gathered in Rumbo Studios in Los Angeles, along with former Guns N’ Roses producer Mike Clink, to begin recording again.
When the sessions turned stagnant, the group turned to outside sources for help.
The answer was Rick Zito.
Zito, who has worked with most notably Cheap Trick and Joe Cocker, was brought in to help co-produce the sessions.
However, Zito was not the final answer to all of the group’s problems.
Though the group had reportedly composed 60 songs for the sessions, the results were not up to par with Sister Hazel’s standards.
As a result, the group took some more time off to regroup and rethink their recording process.
After a brief absence from the studio, Sister Hazel returned with a new-found direction and a new desire to record.
“Fortress” is the closing track to the group’s second national release, entitled Fortress.
The album’s first single. “Change Your Mind,” has helped to bring the group back into the spotlight and critical acclaim after a two-year hiatus.
