UAB House Party with Sam Hunt, a free concert hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Friday, Sept. 1, will kick off a historic weekend of celebration for Blazer fans, as the football team returns to competition the following day.
The concert at Birmingham’s Uptown Entertainment District is free and open to the public, but tickets will be required for entry. Tickets are scheduled to become available to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 4. Hunt will be joined by opening acts Maren Morris and Ryan Follese, and special appearances will be made by UAB head football coach Bill Clark, the team, cheerleaders and Marching Blazers band.
Prior to making it as a country music star known for hits like “Body Like a Back Road,” “House Party,” “Take Your Time” and “Leave the Night On,” Hunt was a starting quarterback for the Blazers and graduated from UAB in 2007.
UAB Football will start the 2017 season the day following the concert at Legion Field against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs.
Clark says the relaunch of UAB Football has opened up opportunities as never before in name recognition, recruiting and fundraising.
“We have great momentum, and the energy Sam Hunt brings will only add to that,” Clark said. “He is an example of the doors UAB opens up for our graduates and student-athletes, and we are proud to have him join us for the most important weekend in the history of our program.”
UAB House Party with Sam Hunt was spearheaded by leaders in and outside of UAB, including Iron City owner and longtime UAB supporter Steve DeMedicis, UAB Associate Vice President for Business Services Chris Clifford, and Red Mountain Entertainment.
“We are grateful Sam Hunt wanted the opportunity to celebrate UAB Football in such a tremendous way,” said UAB President Ray L. Watts. “Putting together an event like this takes a lot of work, and I want to thank Sam and his team, as well as Red Mountain Entertainment, the BJCC and everyone in our Business Services Department, for their commitment to putting on a first-class event worthy of this historic time for our institution.”
The event is being sponsored by The UAB Bookstore.
“We are honored to bring this event to Birmingham,” Clifford said. “We felt this moment in UAB Football’s history deserved to be celebrated in a special way with our community, and a free concert featuring a former UAB football player who has gone on to a high level of national success is a perfect way to do that.”
For more information about the event, visit the UAB House Party with Sam Hunt event page at www.uab.edu/houseparty.
Hailing from rural Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt quickly established a name for himself and is becoming one of Nashville’s most talked-about young talents. Hunt has been writing songs and playing music since his days as quarterback at UAB. Following graduation, Hunt made the move to Music City to pursue songwriting full time.
Shortly after settling into the Nashville scene, Hunt was signed to a publishing deal and started working with some of the top writers in the business. Hunt began to develop his craft and quickly gained recognition as a gifted singer-songwriter. He garnered cuts with some of country music’s biggest stars, including Kenny Chesney’s No. 1 smash “Come Over,” Billy Currington’s latest, “We Are Tonight,” and Keith Urban’s “Cop Car.”
For music, images, tour dates and more on Sam Hunt, visit www.SamHunt.com.
Since football’s return was announced June 1, 2015, UAB has raised more than $43.2 million to support Department of Athletics operations and facilities improvements, highlighted by the UAB Football Operations Building, scheduled to open next month.
UAB Football tickets are available online through uabsports.com.