Tonight at 7 p.m., a concert featuring Big Sean will light up The Vault NightClub's parking lot. The show comes just before Big Sean's Finally Famous Tour kicks off Sunday.
This will be Big Sean's second appearance in Gainesville since his first concert at The Vault in December.
This event will be the first outdoor concert in Gainesville that PartyDegee.com and Wrld Ent. have promoted at The Vault, according to officials at The Vault.
PartyDegree.com co-founder Matt Teper said he and his partner, James Dieterle, chose the date of the concert near the time of the UF vs. Alabama game because they wanted to bring a lot of excitement before the game and help the Gators win.
"This was our first opportunity to throw an outdoor show," Teper said. "The demand for Big Sean was high, and this will be a cool atmosphere - almost like a tailgate theme."
"You don't need to be a hip-hop fan to have fun at a Big Sean concert," Dieterle added. "He's known for his performances. This is more than a concert; it's an experience every student and Gainesville resident will appreciate."
Gates open at 6 p.m., and tickets are available at ticketmaster.com. General admission tickets are $20 and VIP tickets start at $30.
Neither PartyDegree.com nor Wrld Ent. could disclose the cost of the event, but students can expect a 20-foot stage, a good time and five opening acts, including UF alumnus Gabe Fields.
The Miami native and 2011 UF telecommunications graduate is back in Gainesville to open up for one of the hottest up-and-coming hip-hop artists. His first performance in Gainesville was Aug. 25 when he opened up for Chiddy Bang's Never Growing Up Tour.
After graduation in May, Fields decided to pursue his music career instead of telecommunications and even turned down a television-related job in Miami.
He released his first song during the beginning of August. His first mixtape is tentatively set to release in October or November of this year.
To learn more about Gabe Fields and listen to his work, check out youtube.com/gabefieldsmusic, follow him at twitter.com/gabefields and visit his website at gabefields.com.
Avenue writer Audreyanna Loguerre got the chance to chat with Fields on his way to Miami to rehearse with his disc jockey, DJ Crespo, for tonight's show.
It's great that you are a UF alumnus and opening up for Big Sean. How do you feel to be coming back to Gainesville and opening up for a huge hip-hop artist?
"It's amazing. I'm excited in a lot of ways - proud and really just happy to be back in Gainesville, the town that I went to college in and that gave me my last four years. It's an amazing feeling to come back and see everyone, you know, to do a show like this. It lets me know that I'm moving in the right direction."
At UF, you realized that you wanted to further pursue your music career. What triggered it for you? What made you come to that realization?
"I've been writing music at a very young age, since 13. I actually recorded my first song when 15. Back then, it was more of messing around and for the fun of it, but my senior year I went back to it. Since I graduated, I was able to put my full focus, time, energy and 100 percent of me into it because I really couldn't give that in college. In college was when it came back to me, and I knew it was something I had to do."
How did your parents react when you told them that you weren't pursuing telecommunications, but instead pursuing your music career?
"I'm very fortunate. My parents were very supportive of me in every way. They were 100 percent behind me. I think they knew that I wanted this and that I had it in me. I think they believed in me, and they want me to be happy."
Do you think you will ever pursue telecommunications, or is your focus just music?
"No - absolutely. There's a lot of things I'd like to do in my life. I want to get into television and film. I focused more on broadcast in college, but honestly I always enjoyed taking classes, so, I wouldn't even mind going back to school. (Fields chuckles) I'm still writing scripts on the side, and it's just for the time being I've chosen to focus on this but, yeah, I do see myself going back one day."
What is the inspiration for your mixtape that's currently in the works? The theme - what is it going to be about?
"My music is a reflection of who I am and my thoughts, feelings and my experiences that I've had. As an individual, I think that I share a lot of obstacles and challenges other people have went through. For this mixtape, it's an interesting time in my life, because I'm chasing a dream that I've had at a very young age and that not many people even have the opportunity to get. I basically want to capture the moment of everything that's going on while I'm doing these shows because it's a lot of excitement around it. I have a lot of people around me that believe in me, and I certainly don't want to fail them. I feel like every time I do music and step into a booth, I always have a chip on my shoulder because of my circumstances - a college grad - and it's a lot of things going for me that aren't really looked up to in the rap game. There's a lot of proving in myself that I have to do and proving to the world on this first mixtape, and I believe that myself and my team are ready for it. This show is very big as well."
Before speaking to you, I actually searched for your SoundCloud. "Lonely Mind" is my favorite out of the entire four tracks. Can you speak on that song?
"‘Lonely Mind' draws on a couple of different relationships or experiences in the past that I've had with women. They were something that had an impact in my life. Basically, I came up with the song sort of looking back on and reflecting, but sort of looking forward. Which I feel like this is a common threat in life and relationships where we're hanging onto the past, and you can't get to the future by doing that. I wrote that third verse to tie everything together and to really explain where my heart was. I actually wrote that in one night and recorded it in one night on my second take, with that third verse. That third verse has everything that I have in me."
What's the thing you miss most about UF and college life?
(Field chuckles) "All the people there. I miss my friends and people that I know I'll get to see when I come back in town. I desperately miss gamedays. I'm staying for the Alabama game weekend, and I can't wait to have a gameday. You know there's just something about the games on gameday that's different than anywhere else. I'll be staying that weekend, and I'll be looking for a ticket. So, if anyone has any tickets ..." (Field chuckles)
Do you have any advice for UF students who also want to jump into the hip-hop game but have doubts or are afraid?
"I definitely want to mention there's a huge fear, and I was a pretty guarded person growing up, for whatever reason. When you have something that you own, something that you're writing or music, there's a fear of putting yourself out there. I'm learning a lot about that with people that I'm working with. I definitely had a fear of putting something out there like ‘Lonely Mind' because that's pretty serious subject matter that not a lot of people knew about. I would say you've got to really do what you want to do. I wouldn't jump out of college and do something just because the money's right. If you can't enjoy and see yourself doing it, it isn't right for you ... As far as music, a lot of people have fears about putting themselves out there, but you'll never know until you try. Besides that I'm just starting out, so I'll have a way better quote in a couple years."
Do you have any doubts or fears when you're performing or in the booth?
"Performing is my dream. I love performing. I think that I've had doubt and fears about exposing myself too much and maybe even certain subjects being perceived the wrong way. I realized that everything that I'm saying is true and is a reflection of how I feel. I believe the best music kind of speaks for itself and comes from inside. I feel that's what we're doing here and that's what I have going on. I don't doubt the music I'm making. I don't doubt myself. I think there's a fear of the crowd not rocking with you as much, but I think that every performer should be able to take control of the crowd and once you get that feeling, it's nothing like it."
What's the first thing you'll do when you're "finally famous"?
"When I get famous ... as soon as I get enough money, I'm taking all my friends to Vegas on me - everything is paid for. I'm taking everyone that is along for the ride. I'm not even doing this for me to make money. I just want the people are around me to be OK. I just want to make sure they're well off."
Gabe Fields, a 2011 UF graduate, will help kick off ‘Bama weekend in style as an opener for tonight's concert featuring Big Sean at The Vault NightClub.
