As Homecoming season rolls around, students are met with a plethora of activities to highlight Clemson’s spirit and tradition. One of the most anticipated events of the season is Tigerama, a pep rally and concert all in one.
This year’s Tigerama theme is “Tour De Tigerama.” A theme that serves as a “metaphor for the ‘tour’ or ‘race’ that each Clemson student runs,” according to Tigerama director John Bolding.
The theme of Tigerama this year resembles the plight of the Clemson student experience, which as Bolding and assistant director Catherine Taylor noted, may have its ups and downs. The two shared that the pit crew for the proverbial race are the friends who help get you through the hard times and share the good times with you, too.
This year, country band LANCO will headline the pep rally. The bluesy country band hails from Nashville, Tennessee, and is known for singles like “Greatest Love Story” and “What I See.”
TigerLive Entertainment’s president Savannah Wojtkowski and vice president Jonah Kollmann, are part of the team tasked with bringing LANCO to Tigerama this year. Although this may seem like an easy task, it involves hours of detailed planning and scheduling, all while dealing with budgets and deadlines.
This planning allowed for students like Wojtkowski to get involved with the concert portion of the show, allowing them “to work with a lot of different people in the music industry.”
Kollmann shared that this opportunity allows for him to cherish the connections that he can create — which he added make Tigerama even more meaningful. The pep rally portion of Tigerama is planned with the same intent of creating memories and connections in mind.
The pep rally is a student favorite, guaranteed to give viewers plenty of laughs as fraternities and football players perform skits. The crowd will also be dazzled by performances from the cheerleaders, Tiger Band and other performances. Notable University faces, including President Clements, can also be found at Tigerama each year.
This collaboration for Homecoming serves as a way to celebrate “Clemson’s unique traditions and student groups,” Bolding told The Tiger — and the unifying nature of the event doesn’t stop there.
Although this event may seem like it is geared toward students, the primary goal of Homecoming is to bring alumni and students together and to inspire “love and service to Clemson through a pep rally,” as Bolding explains.
For alumni, Tigerama is a reminder of why this University is so special to them, while for many new students, it’s an opportunity to fall even more in love with the University and its long-standing traditions and community.
For the people who helped make this year’s Tigerama possible, like Wojtkowski, the night of the event is “like a breath of fresh air” after months of hard work.
“Every hour of planning and preparation feels worth it when you see everyone smiling, laughing, and fully immersed in the moment,” Kollman said.
Tigerama 69 will take place in Death Valley on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit clemsontigerama.org.
