USF Bullstock introduces students to new artists beyond The Driver Era

USF’s Bullstock Festival Concert had a maximum capacity of 5,000 people and ran for five hours in Lot 35. ORACLE PHOTO/ARIANA RIVADENEIRA HERRERA

Gabrielle Nicholls, a sophomore marine biology major, said she attended her first The Driver Era concert in March 2025 at the Yuengling Center at the USF Tampa campus.

After learning that The Driver Era was coming to USF’s Bullstock Music Festival on April 10, Nicholls knew attending the free concert at her home campus was a must.

The Driver Era is an alternative pop-rock duo formed by brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch in 2018. Ross Lynch was also a Disney Channel star in the 2010s, with roles such as Austin Moon in Austin & Ally and Brady in the Teen Beach Movie series.

Bullstock opened the gates to Lot 35 at 6 p.m., with The Driver Era slated to start its show at 9:40 p.m. Still, Nicholls decided to arrive early to secure a spot close to the stage.

“I got here probably at 2 p.m., but there’s people who came here at noon,” Nicholls said. “But I actually touched Rocky [Lynch]. So I have that now under my belt.”

Bullstock had four openers — two USF student bands, Indigo Lane and my dead roommate, as well as pop-rock singer MARIS and folk dream pop singer Sydney Ross Mitchell — with The Driver Era as the headliner.

And although many USF students grew up watching Ross Lynch on TV, some said Bullstock gave them the chance to discover other bands and broaden their musical tastes.

Bullstock opened with Indigo Lane and my dead roommate, two USF student bands that competed in this year’s Battle of the Bands and won a chance to perform at the festival.

Indigo Lane, a six-member alternative indie rock band, performed a mix of original songs and covers in its 25-minute set — including Paramore’s single “Still Into You.”

To tease its original song “Parking Ticket,” band members asked the crowd to raise their hands if they hated parking tickets — which USF students in the audience did with enthusiasm.

But Connor Trimble, Indigo Lane’s rhythm guitarist, said the idea for the song didn’t originate at USF.

“A while ago, we went to Crowbar to try to get a gig, but they were closed, and then I got a parking ticket,” Trimble said. “I was super upset about it, because it was like a $60 parking ticket. So we wrote a song about it.”

Progressive rock band my dead roommate previously told The Oracle it was planning an impromptu, fluid Bullstock set, as it does not typically prepare through long rehearsals.

In its 25-minute set, the band played songs slated for release this month, while members ran freely around the stage — at times tossing their guitars to the floor with just enough force to avoid breaking them.

Sydney Ross Mitchell, who describes herself as a folk dream pop singer, took the stage next.

Mitchell was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas, and later moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a music career, according to Broadcast Music, Inc.

Barefoot and alone on stage with a guitar, Mitchell started her 45-minute gig by sharing that she is a two-time college dropout and was excited to be at USF.

Mitchell sang some of her most-streamed songs, such as “The Edge,” “Forward To The Kill” and “Queen of Homecoming.”

Mitchell said she wrote “Queen of Homecoming” after visiting Texas while living in Los Angeles. She expected a warm welcome home, but instead said the excitement wasn’t there.

Nicholls said she wasn’t familiar with Mitchell before Bullstock, but ended up enjoying her songs despite not being the style she typically listens to.

“I feel like she has more of a country flair,” Nicholls said. “I’m not a big country girl, but I absolutely adored her voice, so now I’m definitely gonna go listen to her too.”

Pop-rock singer MARIS also opened her 45-minute set with an anecdote about college, saying it was ironic that she never attended but is now on a College Tour.

MARIS performed some of her most popular singles, such as “Body Is On Fire,” “Give Me A Sign,” “Salt Water Taffy” and “Mary + I,” as well as her newly released single “Missing Me.”

While wearing a pink boxing glove and rocking out her pink spacebun-styled hair, MARIS had the audience engage in what she called a “self-love exercise.”

She asked the audience to hug themselves, think of their 16-year-old selves and shout that they love themselves just as they are.

To include the audience in her set once more, MARIS invited them to FaceTime someone and hand their phone up to her during a song.

Nicholls said her position in the audience gave her the chance to be among the first to hand her phone to MARIS.

“I called my mom, and [MARIS] took my phone,” Nicholls said. “[MARIS] was like, ‘Whose mom is this?’ My mom was beaming, and she’s not even a concert girl.”

Before the start of The Driver Era’s one-hour set, USF Campus Activities Board members and security condensed the size of the VIP section so more people could move closer to the stage.

As he walked onto the stage, Ross Lynch asked the crowd if USF had a school chant he should know. The audience responded with “Go Bulls,” which he repeated back to them.

The Driver Era performed some of its most popular songs on Spotify, including “A Kiss,” “Malibu,” “Afterglow,” “Rumors” and “Preacher Man.”

Then, with two songs remaining in the set, Ross Lynch surprised Disney Channel fans in the audience with his solo “On My Own” from Teen Beach 2.

“Just because you guys have been so good to me,” Ross Lynch said before performing the song.

Nicholls said that while she initially went to Bullstock for The Driver Era, she ended the night adding some new songs to her playlist.

“I feel like, especially in this area, you only really hear like rap and hip hop, which is fine, and certain pop, like Taylor Swift or Harry Styles, the big ones,” Nicholls said. “[But] I think events like Bullstock bring more outreach for people to hear different artists.”

Tags: