A sold-out crowd chanted “Tori! Tori! Tori!” in anticipation of this year’s PackHowl Homecoming concert performer Tori Kelly Thursday night at The Ritz. What the crowd didn’t expect was pop artist Johnny Stimson from Dallas, Texas, taking the stage as the opening act rather than contest winners Ladies in Red and Jordan Williams.
“He was good, but I just thought his music was a little too slow for an opening act,” said Margaret Edwards, a junior studying Spanish education, regarding Stimson’s performance.
The NC State a cappella group and WIlliams performed at Campout for the opportunity to open for Kelly, but due to management conflicts, they weren’t allowed to perform on stage. They found out only hours before the show.
“That was out of our hands,” said UAB President Blaise Bolemon, a senior studying graphic design. “We had to work with multiple managers and Tori’s people. We also worked with people in Nashville who they had difficulty with the timing of things.”
Ladies in Red and Williams performed separate acts outside the venue to people waiting in line while the doors were still closed instead of singing on stage. The singers had a much smaller audience than expected because many people arrived after the doors opened and didn’t get there early enough to hear them.
“It was definitely a letdown, but at least we got to be here,” said Ladies in Red’s Paula Calandra, a junior studying nutrition science.
The Ritz was packed with a turnout of about 1,975 audience members.
“I think it turned out better than expected; Tori is flawless,” Bolemon said. “She was under our budget, and it was nice to find that new talent. She was a risk because she was so new, but she has such a great following.”
Kelly, an Emmy award-winning artist, who rose to fame from her YouTube videos, sang a mix of her own singles, as well as covers that made her famous.
“She was so good; I cried three times,” said Ashley Eskalis, a sophomore studying international studies. “I’ve followed her since the beginning. I loved her throwback songs.”
PackHowl will continue with an after show concert featuring Ty Dolla $ign Nov. 6 at The Ritz.
