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MTSU celebrates Recording Industry anniversary wit...

MTSU celebrates Recording Industry anniversary with alums Chris Young, Jaelee Roberts [+VIDEOS]

Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee, left, and Beverly Keel, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment, right, present country music superstar and alumnus Chris Young with a framed photo montage of students using the campus’ Chris Young Café during a special concert Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country music megastar Chris Young, on stage before a packed house at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red on Lower Broadway, didn’t mince words about his love for Middle Tennessee State University.

“One of my favorite places on the face of this planet was MTSU,” Young said of his alma mater in a Q&A interview with Alison Hudak, editor of Nashville Lifestyles, before the magazine’s Music in the City event on Feb. 7. “I’m very lucky and very grateful to have had the chance to work with everyone from that university.”

Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and country music superstar Chris Young performs Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn., during a special Music in the City event hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)
Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and country music superstar Chris Young performs Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn., during a special Music in the City event hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

“You hear so many people, so many times, not reference where they went to school,” Young told the crowd. “Everyone that I know that went to MTSU always just sings their praises — and I love that university. I’m just grateful that I grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and got to go somewhere like that.”

The Music in the City event is one of several marking the 50th anniversary of the university’s storied Recording Industry program, which helped launch the careers of music stars like Young, as well as recent MTSU graduate and country artist Jaelee Roberts, who opened the show.

Watch a clip from Young’s remarks and a special MTSU presentation in his honor followed by a short clip from Roberts’ performance:

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and Beverly Keel, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment, joined Young on stage. They presented Young with a framed photo montage of students using the Chris Young Café, a campus entertainment venue and classroom laboratory. Young’s financial support helped open the café. 

“You are one of our shining stars,” McPhee said. “You are incredible and I have been blessed to know you and call you a friend.”

Keel called Young “one of a kind,” adding, “Who you are as a person is who we hope our students become. You’re a great artist and you’re an even better man.”

Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and rising country music artist Jaelee Roberts performs Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn., during a special Music in the City event hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine. Roberts opened for fellow alumnus and country superstar Chris Young. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)
Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and rising country music artist Jaelee Roberts performs Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn., during a special Music in the City event hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine. Roberts opened for fellow alumnus and country superstar Chris Young. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

Roberts was introduced to the Ole Red crowd by Odie Blackman, one of her professors in Recording Industry, as a “future country music star.”

In an interview with Nashville Lifestyles, Roberts said her degree “absolutely helped me become a better, more prepared artist, with an understanding of all aspects of the music business.”

She also said she received “a great deal of support from faculty and I know they will always be there cheering me on and helping anyway they can.”

Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and rising country music artist Jaelee Roberts flashes a smile as she performs Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn., during a special Music in the City event hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine. Roberts opened for fellow alumnus and country superstar Chris Young. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)
Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and rising country music artist Jaelee Roberts flashes a smile as she performs Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn., during a special Music in the City event hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine. Roberts opened for fellow alumnus and country superstar Chris Young. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

Young and Roberts spent time with about 20 Media and Entertainment students before the show, answering questions about their careers and the industry and taking photos with them.

From the stage, Young pointed to the framed montage that McPhee gave him and shouted out, “MTSU students, just know this is what happens when you go there.”

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

Holding an “I am True Blue” sign, Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and country music superstar Chris Young, center, and rising country artist Jaelee Roberts, center left, take a photo with a group of MTSU Recording Industry program students during a meet-and-greet Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn. Both performed at a special Music in the City event hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)
Holding an “I am True Blue” sign, Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and country music superstar Chris Young, center, and rising country artist Jaelee Roberts, center left, take a photo with a group of MTSU Recording Industry program students during a meet-and-greet Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn. Both performed at a special Music in the City event hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)
Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and country music superstar Chris Young, left, share a moment with fellow alum and rising country artist Jaelee Roberts during a meet-and-greet Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn. Both performed at a special Music in the City event hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)
Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and country music superstar Chris Young, left, with fellow alum and rising country artist Jaelee Roberts Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red in downtown Nashville, Tenn. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)
Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee, left, and Beverly Keel, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment, right, present country music superstar and alumnus Chris Young with a framed photo montage of students using the campus’ Chris Young Café during a special concert Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)
Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee, left, and Beverly Keel, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment, right, present country music superstar and alumnus Chris Young with a framed photo montage of students using the campus’ Chris Young Café during a special concert Feb. 7 at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and live music venue in downtown Nashville, Tenn. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

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