Students came out to celebrate the end of the year along with many genres of music on Thursday during FlashFest, but it was country nation that took over the student green to get students pumped up before Wiz Khalifa’s performance inside the M.A.C. Center.

“I came out tonight because of the performer and it was free,” said Kennedy Kesner, sophomore hospitality management major. “I also came to have a good time and listen to some country music.”

Country music artist Chase Rice, who is touring colleges across America,  brought along his love for country music and his outgoing stage presence. The crowd got fired up when Chase came out on stage and performed his hit song, “How She Rolls”.  

Along with his own music, he played his cover version of “Ride” by Somo and performed many renditions of popular throwback rock songs such as “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard to keep the crowd’s energy up.

FlashFest was more diverse than previous years because USG decided to make this year’s concerts cover all different types of genres to make it more appealing for more students. Country music represented a good portion of that variety.

“This is a good thing for Kent State to have. Everyone wants to have a good time and this is just a wonderful time,” said Christa Shirilla, a sophomore early childhood education major.

Mother nature couldn’t even stop the die-hard country fans. Many students stuck around through the rain to hear all of Rice’s set. He often jumped into singing “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line, which was the first hit single he wrote. He bonded with the crowd by talking about drinking, going out, and college life with the sea of Flashes before him. He even uttered that, “it felt good to be back in a college town.”