Students attending the Crocs Next Step Tour concert tonight should be prepared to “Stop and Stare.”

The tour featuring OneRepublic, Fabolous and Grand Rapids-based band Headed for Zen makes its stop at 8 p.m. in Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

On The Fly Productions adviser Dani Hiar said tickets will be available at the Central Box Office and after 3 p.m. at the Gentle Friday Celebration at Kelly/Shorts.

“College students do things at the last minute, so I’m sure we’ll be selling a lot more in the next couple of days,” said Sterling Heights senior Cristina D’Aristotile, public relations representative for On The Fly Productions.

Since this is the first time a concert has taken place in the stadium, the concert set-up will be a little different.

“It will be on the first half of the football field at the end of the stadium by the locker rooms. We are removing the goal posts for the stage and are laying down a tarp to protect the field,” Hiar said. “It’s going to be festival seating like DTE Energy Theater’s set-up.”

Tickets are $5 for students, faculty and staff and $10 for the public.

OneRepublic first was noticed nationally in the music scene after the single “Apologize” featuring Timbaland hit the airwaves. The band’s single maintained a No. 1 position on the Top 40 charts for two months and broke a radio record, playing more than 10,000 times in a one-week period. In March, the band was voted MTV’s Artist of the Week and has had its music featured on the television hit series’ “Smallville,” “The Hills,” and “Gossip Girl.” Its driven rock sound with piano is what gives this band its flavor and has captured the attention of fans across the nation.

Fabolous has had two platinum records under his belt and worked with recording artist Timbaland. The steady yet progressive beats keep listeners in some situations dancing to the rhythm or in most cases just wanting to listen to more.

Headed for Zen won the Crocs Next Step Tour Battle of the Bands and will be the concert opener. The rock group is not new to the music scene. In the few years the band has been together, it has shared the stage with Evans Blue, Silverstein and Hoobastank. Combining progressive rock beats with ambiance and intricate guitar solos, the guitar rhythms play with listeners, bringing a driven sound at times transitioning to a relaxing beat.

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