Colors to perform final concert on Feb. 28
Having served as a positive icon for USU, the band, Colors, is finalizing its entertainment expedition.
One week from Friday, Russell Dixon, Brian Tibbets and Ryan Merrill will be together on stage for their concluding performance as Colors. Dixon said this concert will be their biggest ever. They will be in Provo at the McKay Events Center.
The center seats 8,000 people, and Colors is ready to accommodate everyone. The vocal trio will be accompanied by an instrumental combination of two guitars and bongo drums.
“It is our love for music that makes our songs come alive,” Tibbets said.
Miraim Williams, an employee at Michael’s Arts and Crafts, said the group’s music is for everyone.
“Colors’ music is energetic, new and fresh. It can be enjoyed by all age groups,” she said.
The three have sung together since their teenage years at Davis High School in Kaysville.
Dixon said that an instant friendship developed between the three young men. This friendship and bond has held the band together for nearly 10 years.
The trio continued through college as all three musicians decided to attend USU.
“At the age of 18, we all moved up to USU,” Dixon said. “There was an immediate bond with the school, the mountains and the valley. We felt like USU was home.”
Their first concert at USU was in 1995 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre.
“We were really nervous about our first college concert, but with the help of the friends we made through the SOAR program, and our SOAR adviser Karen Peterson, the concert was successful,” Dixon said.
From Thailand to Las Vegas and Atlanta to the 2002 Winter Olympics, Colors is known both nationally and internationally.
“We never expected it to become any more than friends playing at high school assemblies. When that happened quickly, we decided to set new goals. We held more concerts, and produced our first CD,” Dixon said.
One album has turned into three albums. They exceeded their expectations.
“People thought that we could never do it. Ten years and 100,000 CDs later, here we are. We did it,” Merrill said. “I would love to encourage the students of USU to follow their dreams.”
Colors is not only recognized for its skillful entertainment, but for the members’ loyalty to each other. According to Tibbets, their friendship is inseparably intertwined with their music.
“It is the music that has made us better friends and kept us together,” he said.
Dixon said, “Our biggest inspiration has been each other; we have been such good friends. What has kept us motivated is friendship. Friendship is stronger than anything.”
As the decade of adventure and achievement is coming to a close, Colors has one goal to accomplish with their last concert.
“We want to say thank you to the fans. It has been a heck of a ride,” Dixon said. “We hope with the last show that everyone we have ever contacted or touched will come and we will make one big memory together.”
Dixon said the members of Colors have a deep loyalty to USU and that there is a feeling of love and family at the university.
“This is where our roots are; this is where we started,” he said.
Colors gives a special tribute to the fans of USU.
“Tell the students of USU that I love their guts. The Aggie spirit is incredible, and USU will always be home,” Merrill said. “Let the tradition live on.”
Melanie Andrus, a senior in landscape architecture, said she plans to attend their last concert.
“Colors is a part of USU,” she said. “They established a tradition and a standard. Even if the band is no longer together, their legacy will continue.”
Colors’ final concert will be on Feb. 28, 2003. Tickets are selling for $10 at the McKay Events Center Box Office, (888)844-7469. They are also available at any Smith’s Tix in Logan or on the Web site colorsmusic.com.
–syllee@cc.usu.edu