Editor’s note | July 5, 4:45 p.m. This story has been updated to reflect Student Activities and Involvement Assistant Director Richard Mahler’s comment as to why rap artist O.T. Genasis was not chosen as a concert headliner.

To help kick off the Owls’ football season, two acts will visit FAU to co-headline its fall bonfire concert.

Rock group We the Kings and hip-hop trio Travis Porter will take the Boca campus stage at the 11th annual event. In between their performances, head football coach Lane Kiffin and several of his players will promote their upcoming season.

The Sept. 7 concert/bonfire combo is put on by FAU Athletics, Student Activities and Involvement, and Program Board, the student-run organization that coordinates on-campus events.

We the Kings is known for its 2007 single “Check Yes Juliet” while Travis Porter was made famous by its 2012 hits “Bring It Back” and “Ayy Ladies.”

The rock group will receive $18,000 while the hip-hop trio will be paid $17,500, said Student Activities and Involvement Assistant Director Richard Mahler. While the acts have been labeled co-headliners, Travis Porter will close out the night.

When asked why the groups were chosen, he said, “Both are diverse quality acts that fit within our budget.”

Program Board also considered hip-hop artists BlackBear and O.T. Genasis as headliners.

“Ultimately, BlackBear was out of our budget range and O.T. had issues at another institution and we did not feel that he would be a good fit,” Mahler said.

The University Press asked Mahler if he could clarify what those issues were, but he stated that he could not “expand.” When questioned why he couldn’t comment further, he said, “All I can say is that [there] was an incident that happened at another institution.”

Past fall concert performers have included hip-hop artist Yung Joc, country artist Chase Bryant, and rock group All Time Low.

The assistant director said that FAU is looking to make the event safer for students this year.

Fencing will be installed around the Housing Lawn, where the event will take place, as well as security checkpoints and bag checks. These are similar security measures to those typically in place at Kaye Auditorium events in the Student Union.

Mahler added that FAU is hoping former head football coach Howard Schnellenberger will attend the event, but that his health may prevent him from appearing. Schnellenberger built the FAU football program from scratch starting in 1998.  

The Owls’ first home game versus Air Force is the following afternoon, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m.  

Kristen Grau is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected].