On the day September 30th,  2021, history was made. Maybe not huge history to the world but definitely big history to all people who bleed purple. The long awaited Kyle Rudolph charity concert featuring Darius Rucker at Elder High School finally happened and it was everything anyone could of asked for and then some.

The entire concert was hosted by Kyle Rudolph’s Charity Foundation and was sold out. There were drinks that included Coors Light, Miller Light, and Dasani water. There was also pizza  from Jets Pizza, a local place that Kyle is a part of. To my surprise after the concert, Elder students got to take some home of the surplus home for free. (I was one of those lucky fellows)

The concert began at 7pm and three people came out and spoke to the crowd. These included two Elder alumni and a beloved radio broadcaster. These people included: Principal Kurt Ruffing, Former Bills center Eric Wood, and former Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman.

Marty then introduced the opening act. This was Bronson Arroyo who is another favorite of the people on the westside of Cincinnati. Arroyo pitched for the Reds from 2006 to 2013 and then again in 2017 before starting his music career. Although his band is a small name, they played well for an opening act of a concert.

Then Rucker came on and played phenomenal. He started off with a few of his songs then brought in some covers that included: Pink Houses by John Mellenkamp, Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks, Family Tradition by Hank Williams Jr. These were fantastic.

Then after he got into his groove he started playing some of his well know songs like Alright, Beers and Sunshine, and Come Back Song. I was happy I took the time to listen to more of Darius’ music because if not, these would have been the only ones I knew. After that he did some more lesser known songs then at the end of the night hit everyone with what they had been begging for the entire night: Wagon Wheel.

Although this is not his song, it is the only song people think of when they hear his name because of his unbelievable cover of it. It was the loudest the crowd had been the entire night. After that he said his thank you but turned around and said he had one more song. It was a song Kyle Rudolph told him he had to sing if he was going to play at Elder. This was Purple Rain by Prince. I undoubtedly assume Kyle had him play this song since purple is the main color of Elder High School but the song itself is still great, nonetheless. Darius has played it before but this time being at Elder was more special.

Before this concert I had listened to a decent amount of Darius Rucker music, and he is certainly in my top ten favorite country singers right now, but this concert made me like him even more. It is one thing to listen to an artist through a speaker or off the phone but hearing them in person makes them  a hundred times better.

The concert was a memory that I will hold forever and am so glad to have gone to. Who knows the next time I will see a concert in a high school football stadium, yet alone in the PIT.

Thus the concert was a great success and something truly special to be a part of. It brought two of my favorite things together: Elder High School and country music. Although this event was postponed and rescheduled multiple times, the result was always going to be the same nonetheless: Absolute Greatness.