On October 9th, David Cook and Gavin DeGraw will kick off their national tour here in Happy Valley as a start to the Homecoming week festivities. They will be performing at Rec Hall, with the pre-show starting at 7 p.m., following the Homecoming dance competition. Tickets will go on sale on October 3rd in Alumni Hall from 10-2. After that, tickets will be on sale at the HUB from 10-2  on October 4th through 6th, while supplies last. If you’re a Penn State student, you’re in luck! Tickets are $5 with your ID. For the general public, tickets are $15. More information can be found here.

DeGraw might be known for being “that guy” who sang the ‘One Tree Hill’ theme song, ‘I Don’t Wanna Be,’ or “the guy who got attacked by a group of guys then run over by a cab” this past summer, but he’s also an incredibly talented singer-songwriter. His latest album, Sweeter, came out on Tuesday and is excellent. If you have Amazon Mp3, you can grab the title track for free this week, and honestly, who doesn’t love free things?

If you choose not to download his song, here’s the video for ‘Not Over You,’ the first single off the album.

Fans of DeGraw will enjoy his fourth studio album, which has more of a funk-soul-pop vibe to it. ‘Sweeter’ and ‘Not Over You’ were co-written with OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, and the album as a whole gives off a much different vibe than his debut album, Chariot, which is one of my favorite albums by a singer-songwriter. This album definitely has a great sound to study to, which is why I’ve found myself listening to it while trying to study for a few tests. It’s chill. It’s mellow. Its sound will make for a great show when he plays here.

Meanwhile, David Cook, American Idol season 7 winner, released his second album this summer, entitled This Loud Morning. This album includes songs that he also co-wrote with Tedder. This album includes the song ‘Fade Into Me,’ which is slated to be the second single off of it.

On a completely different note, perhaps Cook will do his cover of Adele’s hit, ‘Rolling in the Deep’ at the show. His is one of the best Adele covers I’ve heard this year.

Overall, this looks like it is going to be a great show and a lot of fun! Plus, this may not be a free show like the Matt Nathanson one, but $5 is a pretty good deal nonetheless.