MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Organizers for the Party in the Grove, the live performance venue set for Middle Tennessee State University’s Walnut Grove, announced Tuesday headliners for the shows to be staged three-and-a-half hours before kickoff of Blue Raider Football’s first three home games.

Hip-hop artist Legendary Nedge, rising country star HunterGirl and country-rock trio The Cadillac Three, all with strong MTSU alumni ties, will be the first three acts set for what the university hopes will become a new pregame tradition on the campus, said MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee.

Nedge, who as Nick Edgerson graduated in May from MTSU with a degree in music business, will headline the show before the season opener on Saturday, Aug. 31, against Tennessee Tech. He’s a two-time Telly Award winner and was a featured artist on the MTSU College of Media and Entertainment’s “We Do It All” television commercial that won a regional Emmy. He has recorded on MTSU’s student-run Match Records label.

HunterGirl, who as Hunter Wolkonowski graduated in 2020 from MTSU with a degree in music business, will take the spotlight before the home game on Saturday, Sept. 14, against Western Kentucky University. She was the popular runner-up of Season 20 of American Idol in 2022, where she was championed by show judge Luke Bryan, who said she was his “favorite female Country voice.” Now signed with 19 Recordings/BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville, she toured with Bryan over the summer. She was named an honorary professor of recording industry at MTSU in 2022.

The Academy of Country Music Awards-nominated trio of Jaren Johnston, Neil Mason and Kelby Ray will take the stage as The Cadillac Three before the Homecoming game at 6 p.m.  Saturday, Sept. 21, against Duke University. Johnson is a former MTSU student and Ray graduated from the university in 2003 with a degree in music business. The group has released three albums through Big Machine Records, and has charted three singles on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.

“We are thrilled to welcome back our alumni to campus to help us launch the Party in the Grove,” McPhee said. “We’re proud of their success and accomplishments and grateful that they will return to campus so our students can not only enjoy their performance but also learn their stagecraft.”

The three shows will begin in Walnut Grove at 2:30 p.m. and kickoff for the three games are set for 6 p.m. at nearby Floyd Stadium. In addition to the performance stage for bands, artists and DJs, the grove will also feature two food trucks and several new sponsor tents and activities will be added to the mix as well.

Click here to purchase tickets to the MTSU-Tennessee Tech season-opener game.

The party will wind down 45 minutes prior to kickoff with a “Follow Me to Floyd” parade, led by Student Government Association President Michai Mosby and Blue Zoo President Bretlyn Warner, who will also be the event’s emcees.

Party in the Grove, located in the traditional campus gathering point in an open field between Peck Hall and the Cope Administration Building, is led by the Division of Student Affairs, the College of Media and Entertainment and Blue Raider Athletics.

A high-performance race car from the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix will be displayed in the grove on Saturday, Aug. 31, with race representatives handing out swag and special ticket offers to the season finale for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES set for Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Click here for a special combo deal to purchase tickets to the MTSU-WKU game on Sept. 14 and the Prix race on Sept. 15.

— Andrew Oppmann (Andrew.Oppmann@mtsu.edu)