COLUMBIA, Mo. – Crowds packed the front yard of a Columbia house Sunday night to hear the popular 2000s rock band All American Rejects as they made a pit stop in their series of house shows.
It’s an unusual setup compared to what one may think it is—their stage was the yard in front of a college house in an area of what is typically known as East Campus to Mizzou students.
KCOU 88.1 FM hosted the pop-up “school’s out” show. Planning took about two weeks with KCOU’s Music Directors Lily Franck and Michaela Bailey, which General Manager John Sansone praised for their efforts to put on a great show with a meaningful impact behind it.
The house show was in effort to raise money for Columbia’s nonprofit movie theater, Ragtag Cinema, which is well-known for its annual True/False Film Fest. Earlier this month, the theater announced funding cuts as the National Endowment for the Arts terminated federal grants.
“It’d be fair to say that KCOU wouldn’t be what it is now without the arts scene in Columbia. With recent federal budget cuts, Ragtag needs the community’s support now more than ever, so we were more than willing to stand behind them for this show. The Rejects also pledged $500 to the fund on stage, and flyers were posted across the yard,” Sansone added.
Show goers were crammed on the front lawn, the porch, and even on the roof of neighboring houses. They sang and jumped along as the three-man band played their most popular songs from the 2000s. As the University of Missouri wrapped up its 2025 commencement Sunday evening, lead singer Tyson Ritter was even seen wearing a Mizzou graduation gown at one point.
In one video of the night, lead singer Ritter could also be heard shouting to the crowd, “So everybody, when you’re walking home or stumbling home, make sure you got one eye open enough to tag… the Ragtag.”
Columbia Police shut the concert down
The All-American Rejects followed another local band, The Park, who was chosen by KCOU. The headliner managed to play for about 45 minutes before the Columbia Police Department shut it down, according to Sansone. So, they closed out with one more song: “Gives You Hell.” Sansone said:
“This was the most incredible thing I’ve ever been a small part of… it was incredible to see a band that normally fills out full arenas to come back to their roots and play a DIY house show for a few hundred people. It was an incredible show of community, and it just goes to show how strong the arts scene in Columbia really is. It’s not lost on me that things like this don’t happen that often. To see the station I love host a band with 8 million monthly listeners, in my second full day as General Manager, is something I’ll be chasing the high of for a long time.”
All-American Rejects recently began their series of pop-up house parties in college towns less than a week ago, making stops at University of Wisconsin Green-Bay, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in Ames, Iowa.
