Rock for your right to vote

Cinna the Poet performs at The Keystone. From left to right R.J, Jennings, bass guitar; Josh Mullen, lead vocals; Nate Robusto, drums; Forrest Stockton, guitar; and Tim Yockey, DJ (not pictured). Cinna the Poet will play the Rock the Vote concert tonight at The Surge.

Cinna the Poet performs at The Keystone. From left to right R.J, Jennings, bass guitar; Josh Mullen, lead vocals; Nate Robusto, drums; Forrest Stockton, guitar; and Tim Yockey, DJ (not pictured). Cinna the Poet will play the Rock the Vote concert tonight at The Surge.

At 8 p.m. tonight, Oct. 3, The Surge will host a Rock the Vote concert to encourage unregistered voters to sign up and cast their votes on Nov. 4.

“I think it’s important that everyone vote,” said Fran Nickerson, owner of The Surge. “Otherwise we don’t have a voice to stand on and we don’t have an opportunity to say anything bad about the candidates if we don’t vote. You don’t have a voice if you don’t vote, at least not one that I’ll recognize.”

The event is free to the public and will feature performances from Simon Says, This Above All, Cinna The Poet and By Hook Or Crook. The event was arranged by Lauren Oxendine, president of College Democrats at Missouri Southern.

“I had no intention of doing anything,” Nickerson said. “I actually ask people if they are registered to vote, if they are not I tell them it would be wise to do so but that’s as much as I do.

“I was approached to see if I would offer a show to get people to sign up to vote, just kind of work the room and do it that way, so I was all for it.”

Simon Says is participating in the event without pay to get the political point across.

“Everything about politics affects your everyday life,” Simon indeed said.

“I don’t know anybody that doesn’t have a complaint about what’s going on and the only way to fix what you see is wrong is to take an active stand.”

“Music is universal,” he added. “It’s something everyone relates to. I know it sounds cliché but music is the soundtrack of our lives.

“You can use it as a medium to draw people in and then between acts you can get your point across.”

Nickerson expects more than 100 people to attend the event and hopes to get at least a dozen new voters registered.

“I think it would be really beneficial to our country if people would actually register and actually go and vote,” she said. “It’s one thing to register, it’s completely different if you actually go on Nov. 2 and put your voice to the ballot.”

Rob White, one half of What’s Real, is unable to cast a vote, but still supports Rock the Vote because he thinks it’s that important.

“The reason why I considered doing this is because I’m a felon and I can’t vote,” White said. “And that makes me want to have the freedom to vote.

“To me it’s not about voting for a certain candidate, it’s about voting for something you want or against something you don’t.”

The Surge is located at 1204 Wall Ave.

Don’t forget to punch your chad.