Ohio State’s student organization Scarlet Guitarists show their appreciation of music by hosting free concert Scarlet Shakedown in Browning Ampitheater. Credit: Shea Sooley | Lantern Reporter
Scarlet Guitarists, a student organization, will host their Scarlet Shakedown event — a free back-to-school concert featuring performances from club members and bands from across Ohio — at the Browning Amphitheater Friday.
Craig Minnick, a third-year in finance and president of Scarlet Guitarists, said the concert, which starts at 6 p.m., will represent a variety of genres and musicians from Columbus, Cleveland and Canton, some of whom are members of the organization.
“We got two of our bands [from] within the club, [then] we got Cougar Meat, which is more like ‘80s hair metal [and] Paperview, which is more alternative,” Minnick said. “We have our own e-board band within the club called the Scarlet Executives, and we have the local 5 Dollar Club — they play some good ol’ rock n’ roll.”
Minnick said the goal of the concert is to raise awareness about their club and bring together people who appreciate music.
“We want to make a place where, even if you have a casual interest in music and you’re just looking for somewhere to go during your first weeks, trying to find somewhere that you belong on campus,” Minnick said. “This is a way, at least, to meet up with people who appreciate that sort of thing at some level.
“If you’re a musician and you see one of our acts play, maybe in a couple months time this could be you on stage.”
Kyle Zaklan, a third-year in marketing and operations management and co-vice president of Scarlet Guitarists, said in addition to spreading awareness of their club, the show is also a great way to get involved with the Columbus music scene.
“A lot of people come to Ohio State for those sports aspects of it, but there’s also a growing music scene in Columbus and we want to be a part of that,” Zaklan said. “Columbus is a growing and expanding city. It’s rather young and we want to be a part of that developing music scene.”
Minnick said the club thinks the concert will be a great way to kick off the school year after hosting a similar event last semester.
“We really wanted to expand a lot on the last concert we had as well, because we saw a lot of people within the club wanted to put their skills to the test,” Minnick said. “It’s something that people could work towards within the club — it’s fun performing live and seeing everybody come up with some cool stuff.”
Zaklan said they do not collect membership fees because they want music to be accessible to anyone interested. While the group did not receive any funding from Ohio State, the executive board members purchased all the equipment necessary for the concert out of their own pockets.
“Literally everything has been upgraded. We went from no equipment to [having] everything we need,” Zaklan said. “So yeah, we’re gonna put on a good show because we actually have the ability to do that now.”
Zaklan said the financial contributions towards the group are guided by their passion for music.
“None of us have a label backing us. We just do it because we love to do it,” Zaklan said. “We just want to create that atmosphere that’s welcoming to everyone.”
Minnick said if the weather does not cooperate, Independence Hall is booked as a backup venue. Updates on venue location can be found on the organization’s Instagram.
“Even if it’s rain or shine, we’re going to make it happen,” Minnick said. “We’re going to create a community and have something for people to look forward to.”
More information about the Scarlet Shakedown concert can be found on their Instagram page.
