This Friday, Nov. 21, get ready to rock for a cause.
Clemson’s Interfraternity Council has announced its newest event, taking place at ROAR Clemson: Battle of the Bands. The event is headlined by country artist Blake Whiten, with seven additional Clemson bands from participating fraternities competing.
The event “marks the beginning of our longstanding commitment to working with the Tucker W. Hipps Memorial Foundation, an organization that I can say is very important to our community,” Dylan Odin, senior political science major and president of Clemson IFC, told The Tiger in an interview.
The Tucker W. Hipps Foundation is a charitable organization founded in memory of a Clemson University political science student and former Sigma Phi Epsilon pledge who died in September 2014 during a fraternity event.
According to the foundation’s website, Hipps, the pledge class president, was allegedly forced to walk across the railing of the Highway 93 bridge around 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 22, 2014. His absence was noticed after he didn’t show up for a fraternity breakfast later that morning.
“The run was an event that would have been considered ‘hazing’ under the policies of the national Sig Ep organization as well as under the rules of Clemson University,” according to the Hipps Foundation. However, no arrests have been made regarding his death, nor have criminal charges been levied against organizations or individuals.
Now, nine years later, Clemson IFC is officially partnering with the foundation and is proud “to convey a strong commitment to our philanthropic cause.” Odin expressed a wish to make Tucker’s story better known and to continue honoring his legacy.
“This event is special in that it marks a moment where every single IFC chapter has united to support one philanthropy and one cause … we believe that this event will mark a special community-wide commitment to ending organizational hazing and misconduct,” Odin told The Tiger.
Odin then spoke about the organization of the event and the work that IFC has done to make it happen.
“Our Director of Philanthropy & Service has put in so much work, reaching out to fraternities, building relationships with the venue, and scheduling bands,” he said regarding his colleagues.
The event was not without its obstacles, including “finding the right time to have this event so as not to run into too many other events around Clemson.” However, IFC had assistance from the constituent chapters, noting that its fraternities have been very helpful.
Finally, Odin expressed hope that this event would become a recurring one.
“We are definitely hoping that this becomes a long-standing IFC tradition,” he said. “The cause, the fact that we can unite so many people behind it, and the camaraderie associated with Battle of the Bands captures the spirit of our community. If this is something we can keep going for a while, we would be very proud.”
IFC Bands
Local guitar hero Slick Nick will open the show with a rendition of the national anthem, followed by Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic “Free Bird.”
House Friday, representing Kappa Sigma, will kick off the competition proper. It is the most seasoned Clemson band on the bill, as it’s been going strong since this past January. The band has played with multi-time Best of Clemson winner Carly Miller Band and Clemson Music Festival 2025 fan favorite Congress, so it has sufficient knowledge of what the local crowd will respond to the best.
The members of Porsche Lane, representing Chi Phi, will take the stage next. They claim to be the “new kings of Clemson,” and “play what the people want,” which includes mostly country and rock classics. The Battle of the Bands will be the band’s first show ever, “so there is definitely a lot of pressure.”
The Night Shift, another relatively new group, will play for Sigma Nu. The band formed when its members met at a Clemson Guitar Club meeting and discovered a shared taste in music. Its repertoire so far includes crowd-pleasing covers like the Backseat Lovers’ “Pool House” and Chris Stapleton’s version of “Tennessee Whiskey.” The members “couldn’t be more excited” to participate in the Battle of the Bands, adding that it’s “such a cool idea.”
Psi’d Effect, Psi Upsilon’s cleverly named band, will make their live debut at the Battle of the Bands. Like the other bands in contention at the Battle of the Bands, they were required to take at least half of their members from the fraternity sponsoring them.
Phi Sigma Kappa’s representative is the band known as Upstate. They’re more established than many of the other acts on the bill, having played their first show in March of this year. “We always work as hard as we can in order to put on the best show possible,” they told The Tiger, but the competitive aspect “is something new.” They currently play covers but “are working on a couple of original jams and songs.”
Clemson Pi Kappa Alpha will be represented by 85 South, a fairly new ensemble that played its first show on Nov. 9. The all-freshman four-piece plays “a mix of all kinds of covers,” with plans for originals in the near future. They shed some light on the perks of playing a battle of the bands — “they’ll have all the sound equipment figured out so all we have to do is plug our guitars in and play.” They hope that the Battle of the Bands leads to bigger and better things for their future in the Clemson music scene.
Alpha Tau Omega has drafted the Back Porch Band as their Battle of the Bands challenger. The band is fairly well-established, with a number of shows at downtown venues under its belt. They’re “treating it like any other show and just focusing on bringing our raw, genuine sound to the crowd.” That genuine sound is a blend of country and Southern rock, inspired by Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshall Tucker Band.
The bands each expressed their enthusiasm about playing for a good cause. While some felt the pressure of the competition, all are prepared to bring their all on Friday, Nov. 21.
Blake Whiten
In addition to the Clemson fraternity-affiliated bands, the Battle of the Bands will also feature headliner Blake Whiten. Whiten, who hails from Six Mile, South Carolina, rose to prominence on the strength of his single “Rollin’ Stone,” eventually securing a Warner Records contract and a slot opening for Morgan Wallen at four shows during Wallen’s “Still the Problem Tour” next year.
Noted for his raspy voice and his synthesis of classic country storytelling and rough-edged rock with accessible contemporary elements, Whiten has also earned hits as a songwriter with country star Bailey Zimmerman.
Whiten will take the stage at 9 p.m. and will play until the event ends at 10:30 p.m. Attendees can expect to hear originals like “Made For Goodbyes,” “Carolina,” of course “Rollin’ Stone” and perhaps some covers as well. His first hit was a cover of the unreleased Morgan Wallen track “I Guess,” and there’s a chance that Whiten will bring out the number in anticipation of his own upcoming shows with Wallen and the country superstar’s impending Death Valley performances.
