Addicted to Music show leaves behind cravings

The Addicted to Music festival was like a sneak peek of summer. A football was tossed between some guys at the far end of the parking lot next to McNutt Quad while others threw a flying disc. People were lying out on the warm grassy hill that overlooked the lot while freshmen Jacqueline Perry and Charlie Smith climbed a tree to get a better look at State Radio.

The free show was a kick-off to Little 500 week and was sponsored by Union Board and IU’s Business Careers in Entertainment Club.

“The show is really personal. You feel like you can talk to anybody here,” Perry said. “Random groups of people are just coming together for a game of hacky sack, and the best thing is that it was completely free and for a great cause.”

Perry saw State Radio in 2009 and said the band’s shows are always a good time. The night kicked off with bands San Clemente and Midnight Gravy Train, who got the crowd on its feet and moving.

Senior and BCEC Music Committee Co-Director Stephanie Navarro joined the band on stage as one of the “Gravy Girls.” The Gravy Girls lead the crowd in a giant train as they circled through the audience.

“We just decided to go up there and dance last night,” Navarro said. “It was a lot of fun. I’m glad we did it, and I hope Addicted to Music will only continue to become one of the Little Five must-go concerts.”

Even after the band had finished, the dancing was only beginning. When State Radio took the stage, freshman Will Forman climbed up on his friend’s shoulders and started to dance.

“It’s an unexplainable feeling when you feel the music and it makes you move,” Foreman said. “Anything precluding Little Five is something I’m going to like, and this show is amazing.”

Foreman said the atmosphere was so relaxed that he didn’t even realize the event was put on to support Amethyst House and IU’s Alcohol and Drug Information Center.

When he heard of the reason behind the concert, it really hit home.

“My brother is a former drug addict and has been in and out of rehab
numerous times,” Foreman said. “In fact, he just got out of Halfway House.”

Foreman said he has a firsthand account of what addiction can do to a family.

“Drug addiction hasn’t just hurt him,” Foreman said. “It has hurt my entire family, and people need to be more aware.”

Foreman said he wished Addicted to Music would have brought more awareness of its cause.

“I think it’s a great show, but it’s such an important cause that I think they should have even been more attentive to the situation and letting people know,” Foreman said.

Lead singer from State Radio Chad Stokes said he loves to play in Indiana and his favorite thing about the Indiana crowd for this show was the “dude on his buddy’s shoulders with no shirt on.”

Stokes not only noticed Foreman, but he also agreed with him in that addiction is a problem that needs to be addressed.

“It’s a cause we believe in,” Stokes said. “We have all been lost at times and have had friends who have been susceptible to addiction, and some have passed and some are still here because of organizations like this.”