Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Alternative rock/power pop titans The All-American Rejects are headlining Mississippi State University’s 19th annual Bulldog Bash on Sept. 28 in downtown Starkville.

Branded Mississippi’s largest, free outdoor concert, Bulldog Bash is sponsored by MSU’s Student Association and again will be held at the intersection of Jackson and Main streets. Clark Beverage Group Inc. is title sponsor for this year’s event.

Bulldog Bash is one day prior to the MSU Bulldogs’ highly anticipated Southeastern Conference matchup with the University of Florida Gators at Davis Wade Stadium. For more, visit www.HailState.com/gameday.

Bulldog Bash action kicks off at 3 p.m. with the “Maroon Market,” which features food and retail vendors and performances by local musicians all afternoon. Interested artists and vendors may email bulldogbash@sa.msstate.edu for more information.

At 6 p.m. on the Clark Beverage main stage, the winner of MSU Music Maker Productions’ Battle of the Bands competition will open for the evening’s main acts, which include Chicago’s nouveau disco rap superstar Ric Wilson, California alt-pop band The Mowgli’s, and The All-American Rejects.

Since the start of their career, The All-American Rejects have sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and helped define a post-emo sound. Members include lead vocalist and bassist Tyson Ritter, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Nick Wheeler, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Mike Kennerty and drummer Chris Gaylor. The band’s hits include “Gives You Hell,” “Dirty Little Secret,” “Move Along,” “Swing, Swing” and “It Ends Tonight.” Ritter also added acting to his creative arsenal most recently with credits including “Love & Mercy,” HBO’s “Lewis & Clark,” NBC’s “Parenthood” and Amazon Studios' “Betas.” The group is finalizing new material to be released in the upcoming months. For more, visit www.allamericanrejects.com.

Formed in 2010, The Mowgli’s singers and principal songwriters are Katie Earl, Josh Hogan and Colin Dieden, bassist Matthew Di Panni, keyboardist David Appelbaum and drummer Andy Warren. The group released its third album “Where’d Your Weekend Go?” in 2016. From the jangly folk/pop of the 1960s-infused “Arms & Legs” and the groovy 1970s feel of “Monster” to the 1980s-inspired “Bad Thing” and anthemic “Spiderweb,” the group’s latest collection of songs “runs like a musical time machine through the best of the past four decades of music,” according to Hogan. The band has been previewing some of its new songs on recent tour dates, including the album’s first released track “Freakin’ Me Out” that is one of the band’s favorite songs since its first LP debut single “San Francisco.” For more, visit www.paradigmagency.com/music/artists/the-mowglis.

Twenty-two-year-old electrified, motivational funka-hop-pop-poet Ric Wilson has released two extended play records—“Soul Bounce” in 2016 and “Negrow Disco” in 2017. Since then, he has sold out the Schubas venue and the Chop Shop in Chicago, performed at festivals such as North Coast Music and Tour De Fat, and opened for Chuck D, DRAM, The Roots and many other acts. For more, visit http://ricwilsonmusic.com/biography.

Complete details about Bulldog Bash 2018 can be found at www.msubulldogbash.com, Twitter and Instagram @MSUBulldogBash or by contacting the Center for Student Activities at 662-325-2930.

The MSU Student Association is online at www.sa.msstate.edu, Facebook @MSUStudentAssociation, and Twitter and Instagram @MSU_SA.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.