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When the executive board of Student Productions first met at the beginning of the fall semester, one of the first things they talked about was Party in the Park — even though the biggest student-led event of the year was still seven months away.

“We start out thinking about the bigger picture very early on,” said Paige Brady ’27, a management major who serves as the stage show chair.

That bigger picture came to life Friday in Plant Park with the high-energy, crowd-pleasing band Grouplove, best known for its 2011 hit “Tongue Tied,” with opening act DJ Carrie Keller, who made a name for herself playing house sets in Las Vegas.

The performances had UTampa students and their guests jumping, dancing and singing and enjoying free concessions and custom merch well into the night.

The Student Productions team worked with the booking agency Degy Entertainment to secure Grouplove.

“They have a hot list of artists who have been popular lately, along with different prices for everyone,” said Brady. “Throughout the year, we build relationships with the people there (for other campus events), so they kind of know what we like and can recommend different acts,” she said.

But it’s not as simple as picking everyone’s favorite option within their price range. Brady said there are several variables that go into the lineup selection, including an artist’s reputation.

Then, after signing Grouplove at the end of November, the team worked quietly in the background as they strategized their marketing plan.

“With Grouplove, it was obvious they had a very specific vibe,” said Brady. Thinking about how the band’s music made them feel, paired with a spring evening by the park’s palm trees and Hillsborough River, themes of nostalgia and endless summer came to mind.

The marketing rollout began about five weeks before the show, starting with a Save the Date post on Student Productions’ Instagram account that teased an upcoming artist reveal. The neon graphics with palm trees, created by Brady, conveyed the summer-y concept.

“A lot goes into that, too,” said Brady. “We work with different marketing teams at Degy because we had to get all of the marketing assets approved with them.”

Once Grouplove was announced a week later, the hype on campus started to build. Brady said she could hear people buzzing about it, plus Instagram insights provided a good idea of audience perception.

All the steps to putting on a production like Party in the Park might surprise some people, said Leah Klingen ’26, a finance major. She is on the executive board of Student Productions with Brady.

“I’ve learned how much thinking and planning really goes into something this large-scale,” she said. “It’s opened my mind that there are always different career options.”

Similarly, Brady said she first volunteered to work at last year’s Party in the Park, not realizing how much fun it would be or having any expectations beyond that night. Now, she wants to be a concert manager and has experience planning and executing an entire show from start to finish.

On the day of the concert, a slew of student volunteers was on site to manage the crowd and make sure things ran smoothly.

Giovanna Kocinski, a sophomore and the recreation chair for Student Productions, arrived at the park to set up around 8 a.m. She said there were a lot of errands to be done, but it went well for the most part.

By evening, Plant Park looked like a mini music festival, complete with snacks like fried Oreos and gourmet popcorn. Students were there for the entertainment, but they enjoyed the whole scene.

“We were really excited about the T-shirts, actually. We come every year to get a T-shirt,” said Bianca Carrion ’26.

Ruby Jackman ’29 and Amber Montante ’29 said they fell in love with “Tongue Tied” after it had a resurgence on TikTok last year and then started listening to Grouplove’s other songs. Now fans of the band, they were excited to see it live for the first time.

After the show, Luka Rasevic ’28, who was serving water as part of his catering job at the concert, said “Tongue Tied” brought back memories to one of his favorite video games.

Also leaning into the feelings of nostalgia and carefree celebration was first-year student Kylie Lichtenberg.

“It was really cool because I feel like I listened to that a lot in 2019, and now it’s seven years later,” she said.

After months of logistics, Student Productions team members said it was satisfying to see the crowd have such a good time.

“I know that it’s a stressful time with exams and everything, so it’s a nice break for everyone to just pretend that we’re in summer,” said Brady.