Aftermath: Sammypalooza 2011

Last weekend, we headed to SHSU's Johnson Coliseum for the 2nd annual Sammypalooza. There was a decent turnout, and hopefully, this event will continue to grow. Sammypalooza is free to SHSU students, faculty, and staff - and tickets are available to the public for a fee.

When we first arrived, there were vendors giving out free food and student organizations handing out info.

After our photographer helped himself to a free hot dog, we watched Phil Pritchett on the outdoor stage. Sammy Bearkat showed up for a while. He appeared to be blown away by the speaker volume.

We then went backstage to meet some of the guys from Vertical Horizon. We think someone put Vertical Horizon's dressing room sign by the elevator to be funny, but it could have just been a coincidence.

The members of Vertical Horizon were very kind, and we liked what we heard during their interviews. Meagan Ellsworth from The Huntsville Item was there to interview the bands. She and Matt Scannell totally showed each other photos of their dogs.

After we met with Vertical Horizon, we headed back outside to check out Oh, Sleeper. The crowd seemed to really enjoy this band. The guys stuck around afterward to take photos with fans and give autographs.

At 7p, the coliseum opened for the final two bands - Vertical Horizon and Taking Back Sunday. Fans waited around patiently for the bands. Well, most of the fans were patient, anyway. Some of them were mean mugging our photog.

Taking Back Sunday was the headliner. The singer kept swinging his mic around and almost hit our photographer in the face. It was probably a good thing that we were only allowed behind the barricade for 3 songs.

Overall, Sammypalooza was a success, and it was fun. The show did not sell out, but hopefully, it will continue to grow and more students will stick around for it instead of running home on the weekends. The organizations on campus worked hard to put together an excellent event that was free to students. Thanks for having us, SHSU!

To see all of the photos taken at Sammypalooza, check out our Facebook album by clicking here. Feel free to tag yourself in any photos we took, and "like" our page to keep up with local events.