Daisy Epling watches front row as the country band Montgomery Gentry performs at Diddle Arena Thursday, Sept. 17. CODY DUTY/HERALD

Excited patrons donned their favorite cowboy boots, hats and plaid shirts as they entered the sold-out Montgomery Gentry concert in Diddle Arena. The dark arena was filled with cheering fans, not limited to Western students.

Seven-year-old Daisy Epling beamed from the front row with her mother, Marylon Lampert. The concert was Daisy’s first and she showed every one of her teeth as she smiled and peered around. Lampert drove 30 minutes from Auburn to see the duo.

“I won tickets from Malchow & Lawless orthodontist,” Lampert said. Malchow & Lawless Orthodontics were one of the sponsors for the concert.

Kappa Alpha Order fraternity and Alpha Omicron Pi sorority teamed up to bring the country duo to the Arena. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Arthritis Foundation.

Greenville sophomore Stephen Thurman said the concert will go down in KA history as being the largest fundraiser for their charity, not just on Western’s campus, but nationally.

“Aside from about 100 people, everyone in here bought a ticket,” Thurman said. “We usually raise a couple thousand dollars but this event is going to bring in somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars.”

The opening act was Burly Cruz, a local band featuring Ashley Moore, who is an AOPi.

Sororities and fraternities sat and stood together clapping and swaying to the music. Friends walked around before the concert catching up with each other and making plans for the rest of the night.

The crowd intently waited to hear their favorite songs, reciting each lyric along with Montgomery Gentry. Glasgow residents Erica Poynter and Lorna Ward never missed a word.

The friends, who came to see their high school agriculture teacher Andy Moore, a member of the opening band, agreed that their favorite song by Montgomery Gentry is “Hellbent On Saving Me.”

Hours before the concert began, Montgomery Gentry did something special for the ROTC.

When Eddie Montgomery spotted some ROTC members in uniform, he asked if he could speak with them. The members were in a lab class scattered around campus, but got word to come to Diddle.

Squads marched in uniform beside the Montgomery Gentry tour buses and entered a private door. Montgomery thanked the ROTC for the work they do, which he said allows him to be able to do what he does.

The ROTC gave him a Hilltopper Battalion T-shirt and a red towel as a keepsake.

“It was a real surprise,” Lorie Estes, a Military Science office associate said. “We found out about 4:30 and he came and spoke about 5:30.”

Veterans to charity work, the country-music duo knew how to turn up the fun for a good cause. And they didn’t plan on cutting it short.

As he took the stage, Montgomery shouted, “The party is here, and it just got started!”