CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—The fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina got their “rager” on Monday night after their decision to stand up to anti-Israel protests and protect the American flag inspired more than $500,000 in donations to throw them a party.
“If you had enough courage to defend our flag, then by God we have enough courage to show up in your backyard and play you a concert!” said country star John Rich to a crowd of the fraternity brothers and their friends.
Rich and his Big & Rich partner, Big Kenny, headlined the event, which also included acts by John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting, Aaron Lewis of Staind, Rome Ramirez of Sublime, and a final act by singer Lee Greenwood, whose performance of “God Bless the USA” was paired with a fireworks show.
“For the boys of Chapel Hill,” Greenwood said before singing the song known as the modern-day national anthem, with the crowd.
Jason Calderon, the president of UNC’s Zeta Beta Tau chapter who was one of the fraternity brothers who helped save the flag, said he was excited about flagstock finally happening.
We went to Flagstock, the $500k party thrown for the American flag-protecting fraternity brothers of UNC.
The concert featured acts by @johnondrasik, @johnrich, @RomeRamirez, and @TheLeeGreenwood — as well as military fly overs and a fireworks show.
Here were the highlights: pic.twitter.com/D0CqKNRdfP
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 5, 2024
“I think the event is a celebration of something good that happened,” Calderon told The Daily Wire. “I think it’s a good way to show that the people standing against hate were on the right side of history.”
“We weren’t going to let the anti-American rhetoric and anti-Israel rhetoric be the story of the day at UNC,” he added.
Ondrasik, who kicked off the concert with his hit song “Superman,” dedicated the performance to the hostages and families of the six hostages found on Sunday murdered by Hamas.
“Part of me did not want to come here today, but I know Rachel [Goldberg-Polin] and all of the hostage families want us to continue their fight,” he told the crowd from his piano. “So as I play Superman, let’s all say a prayer for all our hostages.”
The private event was attended by hundreds of students and other guests on a large field owned by the American Legion of Chapel Hill—students were bussed 15 minutes away from campus to the venue, which was kept a secret until shortly before the event due to security concerns.
In addition to students and their friends, it was also attended by a group of Israelis, one of whom was fighting in Gaza as a member of the Israeli military when the UNC fraternity brothers went viral. One of the IDF reservists told The Daily Wire that their actions were inspiring to Israelis at war with Hamas.
“We were in Khan Younis one of the main cities in Gaza, and I s
howed my soldiers this picture,” said Benny Scherlow, who is also an American citizen. “I called my congressman and I told him, ‘We are fighting in Gaza for the Israeli flag, and those guys are in the U.S. are fighting for the American flag. This is the same war.’”
When asked about the criticism the event received for having a party while hostages and innocent people are suffering during the war, Scherlow pointed out that celebrating life even in hard times is at the core of Israeli culture.
“We understand that if you do not dance again, if you do not continue our life, if you do not continue raising the Israeli flag and going with a proud Israel identity, all of this war and what we are doing, there is no reason for it,” said Scherlow, who ended up being one of the last people on the dance floor enjoying a set by TWINSICK around midnight.
Patrick Nanney, a freshman, said he was proud to join the historically Jewish fraternity Zeta Beta Tau this year but found it challenging to start college while there is a lot of division.
“I’m a freshman at UNC which has definitely been difficult making the college decision at the same time that protests are happening and you see such division at a big school,” he said. “I see no reason to not be proud of being associated with people who are Jewish.”
Though the event was made possible by the more than half a million dollars donated, almost all the artists did it free of charge. When Rich thanked the artists and crews that helped put on the event, he said many “did it on their own dime.”
“You know why? Because they know there’s only one of two choices coming up here soon. It’s communism versus freedom, and we’re going to pick freedom every single time,” he said.
The event included a VIP tent with ice sculptures, beer pong, corn hole, beer, and food catered by Hooters, whose waitresses were in attendance. It also featured craft beer and other beverages from a local brewery.
Organizers made every attempt to keep the event non-partisan, though one singer, Staind’s Aaron Lewis, did include the phrases “F*** Joe Biden” and “Let’s Go Brandon” in one of his songs. Liberal journalists still made efforts to undermine the event — on the morning before it took place, the New York Times cited a handful of fraternity brothers to make the claim that nobody wanted it to happen.
And in its aftermath, a local North Carolina outlet claimed that the students were forced to pay for beers at the “rager.” The Daily Wire has obtained receipts for the event that prove otherwise: it actually spent more than $9,000 on beers and seltzers for the guests, and additional thousands catering the event, which wasn’t open to the public.
The largest expenses of the event included the high-tech stage, security, buses for students, and insurance.
John Noonan, a military veteran who organized the “rager” fundraiser and was in attendance, posted to the many donors after the show: “The mission of Pints for Patriots was accomplished at 11:22pm Eastern time on September 2nd.”
