With a little help from some of the music industry’s top talent, Urban Outfitters is revolutionizing the 2024 back-to-campus season with the latest chapter of its Shift Happens campaign.
As students gear up for the fall semester, several campuses will kick off the year with UO LIVE, a dynamic series of in-store live music experiences featuring Gen Z-favorite artists, creators, and can’t-miss moments designed to foster community and connection for the exciting school year ahead.
ESSENCE was on hand for the event series kickoff in Bulldog Country, at the Urban Outfitters location just steps away from The University of Georgia campus in Athens, GA. Fittingly, the first star to hit the trek with UO was Quavo, a native of Athens himself, an aspiring Bulldog, and a fixture of Georgia-bred music and culture.
The hype was palpable as students, Athens locals, and even the littlest Quavo fans huddled into a line that wrapped extended down Clayton Street in downtown Athens in anticipation of catching their hometown hero performing some of the hottest hits in Hip-Hop. Even as the performance area hit capacity, fans crowded around the open door and peeked through the storefront windows just to catch a peek at Quavo’s set through the merchandise.
Before Quavo took the stage at the rear of the Urban Outfitters location, the crowd inside warmed up with a DJ set full of current Hip-Hop hits and roaring excitement as students “called the Dawgs” to kick off the evening.
Next, Atlanta-native rapper/producer Kenny Mason took the stage to warm up the students and locals with viral hits like “4 My,” “Jump In,” and his hit collab with J. Cole and JID, “Stick.”
Concert-goers also got their first peek at UO College Shops: 20 specialty campus-adjacent shop-in-shops packed with the season’s must-have college staples. Of course, the Athens shop was stocked with Red and Black UGA apparel evoking school spirit for their beloved Bulldogs.
Quavo wowed the crowd with his latest collaboration with Lenny Kravitz, “Fly,” before launching into Migos classics like “T-Shirt” and “Bad & Bougie,” and hit collaboration with his late nephew and Migos groupmate Takeoff, “Hotel Lobby.” Being in his hometown, he even brought his sister Tatiana Davenport, the mother of Takeoff, and his own mother Edna Marshall onstage to dance and rap along in the memory of their fallen family member.
The August 13th kickoff was just the beginning of this immersive traveling series. After electrifying Athens, UO LIVE will continue across top college towns. Up next: Georgetown, DC, where British singer/songwriter Towa Bird will hit the stage for the Hoyas on September 4.