Music-filled Flagstock 2024 honors UNC frat that protected US flag
ORANGE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The UNC-Chapel Hill fraternity brothers who protected an American flag after it was being pulled down during a pro-Palestinian protest, were honored on Labor Day.
With the tagline, "Celebrating UNC's Patriots," the Flagstock 2024 concert was held Monday night.
The folks behind this event initially thought it would be enough to send a few kegs to the fraternity, but it quickly went viral online and turned into much more.
Organizers thought thousands would show up to this event and had coach buses ready to go on campus.
Though they didn't get the turnout they might have hoped for, the students who came out said it was well worth it.
The first bands out at Flagstock 2024 made sure the crowd knew exactly why they were there.
After months of hype and anticipation, the show honoring those UNC students who didn't let the American flag fall to the ground during pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus last spring came to fruition.
"I wish it wasn't such a politicalized thing, but this is what it has come to," said Matt Broderick, a senior at UNC. "They really wanted to keep it secret to avoid any protesters and the vibe on campus has been pretty split."
He was one of hundreds who hopped on a coach bus on campus and rode out to the American Legion post in Orange County off Highway 54.
Preston Hill was there, too.
"They didn't even tell us where it was going to be until day of, so but yeah, I think it's great it's just a good spot for people who are patriotic who love America and the American flag to celebrate," Hill said.
The crowd celebrated with hours of free music from Five for Fighting, Big and Rich, Aaron Lewis and Lee Greenwood among others. Dance and electronic duo Twinsick headlined the after-party.
Orange County deputies blanketed the music festival with officers and drones.
Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood was on hand at the event.
He told ABC11 that he was confident that every measure had been taken to make this celebration as safe as possible.
Blackwood said concertgoers needed to be invited by the fraternity to attend and have a ticket to walk onto the grounds.
A flyover elated the crowd and confirmed how far the GoFundMe had gone.
A production company from New Jersey came down and set up the stage free of charge.
"We have had a ton of volunteers from the VFW and American Legion," said Dan Craigg, an organizer. "Everyone is super happy to be here. Thirty to 40 volunteers from the VFW taking their Labor Day to help us put up chairs and tables. Everyone super pumped and optimistic to be here."
Local police, veterans and members of the ROTC were also recognized at the concert.
It's unclear where all of the $500,000 raised online went, but ABC11 learned that some of it went to help Back the Blue, the local nonprofit that helps families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
Flagstock was not connected to UNC.
UNC released a statement regarding the event, saying in part:
"The University upholds and supports the freedoms of others to assemble, express their thoughts and hold events. The Flagstock event is not a university-sponsored event."
Back in April
After a clash between pro-Palestinian protesters and law enforcement in Chapel Hill, the protesters moved to UNC's main quad and removed the American flag, replacing it with the Palestinian one.
A group of UNC fraternity brothers guarded the flag, keeping it from touching the ground. It's an image and moment that has been talked about for months now.
Some of these fraternity brothers spoke at the Republican National Convention.
