Lifestyle Communities Pavilion (The LC)

Barenaked Ladies
By combining humor with an eclectic mix of folk and pop/rock, the Barenaked Ladies enjoyed considerable popularity in their native Canada before rising to international status with 1998's "One Week." Vocalists Ed Robertson and Steve Page launched the band in the late '80s as an acoustic act, traveling to different college campuses and playing warm-up gigs for comedy troupes....

Guster
Although they evolved into a full-fledged pop band, Guster began their career as a quirky acoustic trio. The band, whose three co-founders met during freshmen year at Tufts University, spent most of the 1990s touring the college circuit and releasing independent albums, all of which featured hand percussion in lieu of a traditional drum set....

Ben Folds Five
Led by the pop-minded prowess of their namesake frontman, Ben Folds Five dispelled any misgivings about a band's ability to rock without guitars. Calling themselves "punk rock for sissys," the Chapel Hill natives were often grouped with the nerd rock movement of the mid-'90s, although their debt to jazz music -- not to mention Ben Folds' acerbic spin on the classic pianist/songwriter tradition -- ensured the trio a long-lasting legacy after their split in October 2000....

Andrew McMahon
Chicago bassist who worked extensively with Howlin' Wolf's band before stepping out front as a vocalist with an album for the local Dharma label, Blueblood. ~ Bill Dahl, Rovi

O.A.R.
O.A.R. (an acronym for the band's full moniker, Of a Revolution) transformed itself from an independent college band to a Billboard chart-topper over the course of a long, varied career. First, two of the band's demo recordings were hawked on university campuses....