Bearstock 2026 featured a variety of artists and genres on Mercer's biggest stage on Cruz Plaza Saturday, March 14, bringing with it energy and crowd interactions.
Trinity Scales '27 kicked the performances off with an R&B mixture of covers like Bruno Mars' "That's What I Like" and Silk Sonic's "Leave the Door Open." Scales then sang an original song, "Better Man," before announcing she will release a new single at the end of March.
Her performance featured live instrumentalists: Trey Blue on the drums, Velli Clark and Jeffrey Dean on guitar, and Milton Denmark on the keyboard, according to Scales' social media. The junior made it a point to interact with the crowd, going back and forth singing with the audience members on the ending chorus of "That's What I Like."
Following up Scales was student-led ska band Kosher Pickle, who attracted a large crowd near the stage with their various renditions of ska-punk songs. The band, whose name started as an inside joke, quickly embraced the moniker during their live performance.
Drummer Kenlea Day '26 threw real dill pickles into the crowd in between songs, yelling "Who wants a pickle?" to raucous response from the audience. The band also teased exclusive Kosher Pickle merchandise before their last song, and threw the branded shirts out to the crowd.
After the final song, Day capped the set off by dropping her jeans to reveal Kosher Pickle branded shorts underneath, before opening a pickle jar and chugging some of the remaining brine.
Next up were crowd-favorite Mercer band MothaFunka, who performed their usual setlist of funk-influenced songs while throwing in a few curveballs, including a mid-song transition into Childish Gambino's "Me and Your Mama," which featured backup vocals from Charbel Youhanna '26, one of the band's guitarists.
The band also utilized song transitions to get the crowd involved, including continuing a tradition from last year's Bearstock performance, which featured saxophonist and backup vocalist Micah Scott '27 reminiscing over a past breakup before launching into a rendition of Giveon's "TWENTIES."
Hot Chelle Rae followed MothaFunka and kicked off their set with the hook of their most well-known song, "Tonight Tonight," bringing many attendees on Cruz to their feet, eager to sing along. The two-piece band later performed a sneak peek into one of their unreleased songs from their upcoming unnamed new album. Lead vocalist Nash Overstreet explained to the audience what his type in girls is, then performed, "I Like Girls That Dress Like Boys."
B.o.B. ended the six-and-a-half-hour concert with a variety of pop hits interspersed with some of his own solo music. He jumped into the crowd three separate times during his 45-minute set, passing out signed hats and set lists as well as trading sunglasses with a Mercer student in the front row of the pit. His list of crowd-favorites included Jessie J's "Price Tag" as a tribute to the 16-year anniversary of his debut album, which he dedicated to the "day one B.o.B. fans."
He ended the set with "Airplanes," his Grammy-nominated single from 2010, before reminding Mercer students "Don't drink and drive, just smoke and fly."
Jacob Hossler '28 is an English and Law and Public Policy double major at Mercer University. While not serving as the Sports Editor at The Cluster, he enjoys running, writing and photography.
