Pavilion Graduation: 'The Middle of Nowhere Kids' celebrate commencement with country concert, lots of laughs - The Daily News Online
Pavilion Graduation: 'The Middle of Nowhere Kids' celebrate commencement with country concert, lots of laughs - The Daily News Online |
- Pavilion Graduation: 'The Middle of Nowhere Kids' celebrate commencement with country concert, lots of laughs - The Daily News Online
- Country singers criticize Chase Rice as 'selfish' for concert in front of hundreds in Tennessee - The Advocate
- Country singer responds to backlash for concert | News - Rheaheraldnews
| Posted: 29 Jun 2020 12:43 PM PDT  PERRY — A senior class of 40 Pavilion Golden Gophers — the "Middle of Nowhere Kids," as they were so lovingly called by a country artist who performed a mini-concert during their outdoor commencement — celebrated graduation with sunshine and smiles on Sunday afternoon at the Silver Lake Twin Drive-In. Each graduate had his or her own chair, one decorated with yellow and gold balloons, and they sat beside vehicles full of loved ones. Their radios were all tuned to the same frequency, as they awaited the ceremonial tassel flip, the presentation of diplomas and, of course, what is colloquially known as "the beginning of the rest of their lives." First, though, came speeches and memories shared. "Life gave us something sour," valedictorian Brett Lubberts mused, referencing a quote shared often by beloved classmate Charles Urbanczyk. "But we got through it...These challenges are what shape our lives. Challenges are what make us who we are, and boy did we have a big one. We finished our high-school career in the middle of a pandemic. Seriously, how crazy is that?" After a pause, Lubberts reiterated that not all was lost — they'd learned from their experiences, and would emerge far stronger for them. "You're going to make it," Lubberts assured the aspiring soldiers, scientists, cosmetologists, farmers and all the other dreamers. "I'm not saying it will be easy. But it's always possible. We may very well be the generation that makes decisions with the fate of our planet hanging in the balance. So it's more important than ever that we never give up, no matter what happens." The graduates did without handshakes with administrators. They stepped inside hula hoops to ensure that proper social distance was maintained during class photos, and, instead of the usual applause, were treated to a raucous round of beeping horns to punctuate the end of each speech, presented diploma, or song. And with each passing moment, their adaptability and willingness to change was proven time and time again. "What a strange and bizarre year this has been for all of us," said retiring Superintendent Kenneth Ellison during his keynote address. "The events that played out since I made the call to close school on the evening of March 14 ... (have) tested our whole country in ways that we could never have imagined, and I'm sure we will continue to be tested in the coming months and years." But this was a graduation, after all, Ellison said. And so he soon shifted his focus to offer up messages better aligned with tradition and to, perhaps, teach a life lesson, as well. He said he was saddened that the class missed out on so many "lasts," including their senior prom, their senior trip, and countless other opportunities sometimes taken for granted, but that he was glad, too, for some of the new opportunities that emerged amidst the pandemic — a change-up in graduation music among them. "I must admit, I've always had mixed feelings about 'Pomp and Circumstance,'" he explained. "I respect the tradition, but I think the class of 2020 certainly deserves an unofficial deep track for the unique circumstances." And so he brought his phone close to the mic to share a few options — like the famed score from Jaws or the intro to the Twilight Zone — before that triumphant Rocky theme blared. "That is much better," Ellison said. "A theme that represents fighting back from adversity and achieving goals. This is far more fitting for this class ..." A class, he said, that has revealed its commitment and dedication to all that's important time and time again. "Commitment represents dedication and obligation to a person or a cause," Ellison said. "Commitment is on full display at PCS. That is one of the reasons I have full confidence that our graduates will have success in life." He then recounted the one fateful day when honoring a simple commitment he'd made — to wake up and go to class — changed his entire life for the better, leading him to education, and ultimately to PCS. "The simple choice to honor my commitment to class, my parents, myself, put me in the room that day ... I will be forever grateful ... Remember, honor your commitments and pay attention to both the big and little decisions you make. You never know which ones may change your life forever." As the ceremony continued, and more speeches where shared, all emphasized the bittersweet realities the class of 2020 faced. But despite all the adversity, they were delivered with a sense of unrelenting optimism, too, and a sure excitement for whatever lay ahead. Take the speech from class president, Cameron Milligan, whose sense of humor was not lost in formalities. "As Ghandi once said," Milligan boomed. He then halted, crumpling the paper and tossing it to the stage floor, because he couldn't, he joked, finish reading the speech his mom had written for him. His true speech was instead rife with pop culture references, and many inside jokes that made the graduates smile, and reflect on the memories they'd all shared in their abbreviated high school years. When his classmate, salutatorian Owen Sidhu, took the mic, the graduates were then encouraged to never take anything for granted, not ever. "My senior quote was from 'The Office,'" Sidhu said. "It was Andy Bernard saying 'I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them.' I believe that sums up our senior year. I know myself along with my other graduates would dread coming to school every day and just wanted it to be over with. But as soon as it was, all I was wishing to do was to go back to school." "... We all will be knocked down," Sidhu later acknowledged. "But if you get knocked down 10 times, you get back up 11. So, I ask all my fellow graduates: What will be your championship? What will be your light bulb? What will be your home run?" The students weren't quite sure about the answers, yet. But as they tossed their caps into the air, they knew they had already accomplished at least one great thing: they were graduates, at last. |
| Posted: 29 Jun 2020 05:39 PM PDT 
Chase Rice attends the 52nd annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 14, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) Chase Rice attends the 52nd annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 14, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) Country singer Chase Rice played his first in-person concert in months on Saturday night and appeared thrilled to do so. "We back," he wrote in an Instagram story with a smiley face sunglasses emoji, accompanied by video of hundreds of people singing along to his recent hit, "Eyes on You." But on social media, many were horrified to see images of a packed crowd, with no masks and no social distancing - especially as the concert took place in Tennessee, which is experiencing a significant spike in coronavirus infections. As the videos started circulating on Twitter, other country singers took the unusual step of calling out Rice by name. "Imagine being selfish enough to put thousands of people's health at risk, not to mention the potential ripple effect, and play a NORMAL country concert right now. @ChaseRiceMusic," Kelsea Ballerini tweeted to her million followers. "We all want (and need) to tour. We just care about our fans and their families enough to wait." Mickey Guyton responded and included Rice's Twitter handle: "An absolute selfish act. Shame on him." Maren Morris replied to one of Guyton's tweets and simply said, "No masks," with head-exploding and frowning-face emojis. Bobby Bones, the format's most powerful radio personality, tweeted the video and wrote, "Aside from the obvious .... probably also heavy liability here. Just talked to two different attorneys about this." On Monday evening, Rice released a video to his Instagram account to address the concert: "Everybody had a blast, but then once I posted the video, a lot of people seeing that online had a big problem with how the show looked, how the show went down," he said. "And I understand, there's a lot of varying opinions, a lot of different opinions on covid-19, how it works with live music, crowds and what all that looks like." He continued: "My biggest thing is y'all. Y'all are why I get to write songs, y'all are why I get to tour the country, why I get to do live shows . . . you guys are everything to me, so your safety is a huge, huge priority." Rice went on to say that he has a drive-in concert scheduled for Friday, and that while he encouraged everyone to "get out of your cars, get out of your trucks and party with me," he also added that fans should "please go by the rules, please go by the laws" and stay confined in their own spaces. "The safer we are now, the quicker that we get to get to actual normal live shows, which I know we all want," he said. The concert took place at Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, a former prison turned tourist destination that has a distillery, paranormal tours and a concert series called "Live at Brushy" - it's located in Petros, Tenn., a 2½-hour drive from Nashville. Brian May, vice president of the Brushy Mountain Group, said in a statement Sunday evening that fewer than 1,000 people attended Rice's show, even though the venue's maximum capacity is 10,000, so there was "ample space in the outdoor lawn area for fans to spread out to their own comfort level." The venue abided by all local requirements and "numerous precautions were taken," he said, including temperature checks for guests, free hand sanitizer, and masks and gloves for staff. However, he added, in the wake of Rice's concert, the organizers are currently "reevaluating the series from top to bottom," including further safety measures, changing the setup to drive-in concerts, or postponing shows entirely. "We were unable to further enforce the physical distancing recommended in the signage posted across the property and are looking into future alternative scenarios that further protect the attendees, artists and their crews and our employees," May said. The next "Live at Brushy" show is Sawyer Brown on July 18, followed by Kip Moore on Aug. 1. Adrienne Brown, a Nashville resident who attended the show, said the experience was "wonderful" - in her view, Rice's Instagram story videos made the audience look more packed than it was in person. While a crowd of people did stand around the stage, she said, she and her friends mostly stayed in the back of the lawn. Brown said she understands why some think it's too soon to hold a concert, but she was comfortable with the fact that it was an open-air space, and fans had the option to social distance. "The people that chose to go up to the front, that's who Kelsea [Ballerini] needs to be talking to," she said. Still, the the images of people standing so close together in the middle of a pandemic unnerved many observers. Chris Janson also posted Instagram videos of a big crowd at Gordy's Hwy 30 Music Fest in Idaho on Saturday night, and deleted them after he started to see criticism. He apparently blocked Morris on Twitter ("ummmmmm what did I DO?!" she tweeted, with three cry-laughing emojis), as well as Whitney Pastorek, a Nashville manager who previously worked for Janson's management company and tweeted that the scene at Janson's concert was "reprehensible." "Our industry was a shining light of what happens when people place the well-being of society over their own pocketbooks. We did it right and didn't complain," Pastorek wrote on Instagram, referring to the many Nashville acts who canceled tours this year. "But even if it meant I could earn back every lost dollar and every second of lost health insurance I would not work with an act who decided to jeopardize the health of their fans (and their fans' families and communities) the way Chase Rice and Chris Janson did last night. It's abhorrent." A representative for Janson's record label said Janson "was one of two dozen performers to fulfill a contractual obligation after being told that last weekend's event would adhere to all safety and social distancing protocols." In March, Rice, whose record labels did not respond to a request for comment, vented his frustration about canceled tours with a Facebook post. "If it were up to me I wouldn't cancel one damn show, but it ain't. Today a lot of tours and shows got canceled or moved. I'm not throwing blame to any promoters or decision makers on this, they gotta protect themselves and the well being of people, so I get all sides of this deal. I personally, choose not live scared, especially of something that I can't really control," he wrote. "THANK YOU to fans all across the world. This thing has made me realize that there is no music without y'all. If I've gotta break it down to just me and a guitar on the bed of a truck and play to whoever shows up I'll do it, love y'all." |
| Country singer responds to backlash for concert | News - Rheaheraldnews Posted: 30 Jun 2020 06:14 AM PDT  Dayton, TN (37321)TodayThunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 83F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. TonightScattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Updated: June 30, 2020 @ 12:04 pm |
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