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The Roots to play UMaine on March 20

Anouncement made at MLK Breakfast Monday

By Stephanie Whittier

Posted on Jan. 18, 2010, at 2:29 p.m.

University of Maine Student Government announced Monday that Grammy Award-winning hip-hop group The Roots will play a concert at UMaine’s Field House on March 20.

SG President Brian Harris made the announcement at the 14th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Celebration at UMaine.

“This is democracy in action,” said Joseph Nabozny, Student Government’s acting vice president of student entertainment, referring to Facebook group “Bring The Roots to UMaine,” which he says was the reason Student Government approached the band. The group currently has more than 2,000 members.

“The students of UMaine asked for The Roots, so Student Government is giving them The Roots,” Nabozny said. The Roots previously performed at UMaine in April 2001.

The Roots are the house band for NBC’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. According to Nabozny, the date of the concert was one of the few open dates the band had this spring. Tickets will be available at umainetix.com on Thursday at $15 for students and $20 for general public.

UMaine student David Patrick made another announcement at the breakfast: the birth of a UMaine student chapter for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP .

More than 300 guests attended breakfast to commemorate Dr. King and his ideals. The event featured keynote speaker Rev. Phil Ertha as well as university president Robert Kennedy and Maine Governor John Baldacci. Greater Bangor NAACP Pres. Joe Perry gave the initial welcome address in which a moment of silence was held for the recent disaster in Haiti.

This was the third consecutive year that UMaine has joined with the Greater Bangor Area’s branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to host the annual breakfast.

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Mario Moretto contributed to this report.

For a full account of the MLK Breakfast, check Thursday’s edition of The Maine Campus or keep checking mainecampus.com for the full story.

Campus Currents: The Roots