South Dakota State is hosting a massive party to kick off the school year in August with Jacks Bash 3, featuring country music stars Blake Shelton and Thomas Rhett.
The outdoor concert at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of the university’s football complex.
SDSU and First Premier Bank announced the event on Friday during an event at the bank’s headquarters in downtown Sioux Falls.
“There are things that are really at the core of all of us here,” Dykhouse, Premier’s longtime CEO and a major SDSU benefactor, said at the announcement. “One is giving back to our community, so we think that's an important responsibility that we have. The second thing is having fun.”
Dykhouse was joined by SDSU President Barry Dunn and Athletic Director Justin Sell for the reveal in the bank’s spacious lobby, along with a few dozen Premier employees.
Students will have first crack at buying tickets on Friday. SDSU football season ticket holders, Jackrabbit members and SDSU staff and faculty will receive an email with instruction for a concert pre-sale.
A limited number of tickets will be available online to the general public beginning at 10 a.m. on April 25 through www.jackrabbits.com .
Attendees must be at least 16 years old.
The stadium can hold about 25,000 for a concert as compared to the 19,000 seats for a football game, Dunn said in an interview following the announcement.
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“It's a wonderful way to start the university's year and celebrate young people who are on the path to a great future,” he said.
The first Jacks Bash was held in 2016 to celebrate the opening of the stadium. The second was in 2021 coming out of the pandemic.
“SDSU has the best football stadium in all of FCS, and it's helped us create some amazing memories, host outstanding events, and we actually won a couple national championships in that building as well,” said Sell.
Premier sponsored the first two editions of the concert as well, with headliners Luke Bryan in 2016 and Zach Brown Band in 2021.
Blake Shelton is an icon in modern country music with a long run of hits, awards and monster record sales and streams. He’s also a TV personality with a 23 year run as a host of the singing competition The Voice.
Shelton’s latest TV project, The Road, will take the singing competition format behind the scenes with artists on tour.
In addition to Shelton and Rhett, Jacks Bash 3 will feature Ty Myers and DJ Blake Horstmann.
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Dykhouse said the concert is also an opportunity to recognize the 115 Premier employees with more than 20 years of service, including a teller in Lake Norden who has been with the bank for 50 years.
“That's just amazing,” he said. “Not only are we going to celebrate everything Jacks, we're going to celebrate everything Premier, and especially those milestone anniversaries with a big thank you to all the people that are involved.”
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