Mississippi’s largest free outdoor concert is returning for 2021.
Bulldog Bash, an event sponsored by the Mississippi State University Student Association, will be held Sept. 17 after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The board of aldermen approved the downtown event permit Tuesday at the regularly scheduled board meeting.
Bulldog Bash Director Liv Hunter said with two years of preparation, the five-member SA Bulldog Bash committee is working hard to find volunteers and donations to produce this concert.
“We really hope to have a lot of participation after a year off,” Hunter said. “I know COVID was a hard year for some people, so we’re trying to get them back on board.”
The event typically draws around 35,000 spectators while showcasing several bands and artists each year. Hunter said SA has not chosen who will perform this year, but past performers include T-Pain, Jason Mraz and Eli Young Band.
SA and the Bulldog Bash committee will collaborate with the Greater Starkville Development Partnership and the Downtown Main Street Association to bring in tourism and economic development.
The event features Maroon Market, comprising various companies, organizations and restaurants who fill the area with local artisans, boutiques and good eats. Director of Main Street Paige Watson said the Partnership will serve as the liaison between SA and the downtown businesses.
“They plan everything, and then we relay everything between them and our downtown businesses,” Watson said. “We’re just excited to be having this event again for the city of Starkville.”
The event falls on the weekend of an MSU away football game versus the University of Memphis. Both Hunter and Watson said they hope this will keep residents and tourists in the city.
“I think it’s great to have it on an away-game weekend,” Watson said. “I think it’s great that we’re filling in those weekends, and we’re doing the things this fall that are not on home-game weekends. This is going to be a great, economically-stimulating event for a weekend where there is no home game.”
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