MTSU’s On the Record concert headlined Nashville-area band Ace Monroe at Hop Springs Beer Park on Thursday night.
The On the Record concert was planned by the Live Concert Planning class in the Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment. Students built the semester show from scratch, said Adam Caress, the class’s professor.
“It’s a blank slate, so they have to book the acts, do the branding and handle the marketing,” Caress said. “Find a venue, too. They’ll either do a show on campus or off campus. They chose to do [it] here at Hop Springs.”
The students also had to secure proper funding for the event. Sponsors for this spring’s concert included Chrome Halo Tattoo, MooTV, Drake’s, Merrill Lynch, Average Joe’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Honky Tonk Safe, Murfreesboro Custom Tees and Arcade Management.
Opener: Saint Stranger
Murfreesboro band Saint Stranger opened for Ace Monroe, bringing TOOL-inspired alternative rock to energize the crowd. Lead singer Levi Allen, a senior in music business and the president of Match Records, joked about the band’s genre.
“We call ourselves ‘older brother core,’” Allen said. “Just some stuff you’d find on [the] ‘Skate 3’ soundtrack or what your older brother who drank Monster in the 2000s would be listening to.”
After two years of performing, Saint Stranger is set to release its first EP, “Burn Protocol,” on May 1.
Opener: Fatal Affair
Fatal Affair also opened for the event — an all-girl rock group that combines alternative styles with hippie songwriting. With only two songs available on streaming platforms, lead singer Julia Jayne wants to expand the band’s discography.
“We have the last single coming out May 1, which is ‘The Lines,’” Jayne said. “The album should be out, I think, May 15. We’ve been playing the same songs for two years, so we’re ready to get [it] out and start working on new stuff.”
Along with their performance, Fatal Affair set up a merchandise table at the venue’s entrance. Necklaces, T-shirts and posters were available for purchase.
On the Record also organized a raffle at the concert, handing out tickets to each guest for a chance to win a new electric guitar from Jack’s Guitarcheology in Nashville.
Members of MTSU’s WMTS radio station attended the event, setting up a table for students interested in joining the club in the fall. WMTS gave free ad slots in their programming for the event, Caress said.
Ace Monroe
Ace Monroe’s performance got the audience jumping and dancing along to songs from their 2025 album, “Wild Card,” as the group intensified the night with their Americana rock style.
The concert kickstarted the band’s summer 2026 tour, which will cover several cities in the West and Northeast. This is the first tour without former lead singer Robbie Dylan, with Jack Kaiser filling the role.
“This will be our third nation-wide tour,” Kaiser said. “It definitely becomes a routine. It’s a lot, but the reason we do it is [because] we love it, and our love for it keeps us going.”
Ace Monroe’s newest songs, “Ain’t It a Shame” and “Half Past Youth,” released earlier this year with Kaiser’s vocals. The Hop Springs crowd took to the band warmly, with many of them already singing the lyrics to the newer songs.
“The crowd was amazing,” Kaiser said. “It was a great way to kick off the tour. I’m just thankful for the On the Record team for bringing out a bunch of people because they promoted the hell out of it.”
Ace Monroe’s next tour date is May 7 in Batesville, Arkansas.
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