Phi Mu's 'Bonnamu': A Rocking Success

On Thursday night, March 23, the fraternity brothers of Ole Miss grabbed their guitar amplifiers and cranked them up to 11 for “Bonnamu,” a battle-of-the-bands style philanthropy hosted by the Phi Mu sorority.

This year was Phi Mu’s sixth annual music competition. Tickets were $5 as all proceeds went to Le Bonheur Children’s hospital of Memphis.
The name “Bonnamu” is a play on the popular music festival Bonnaroo, which is held annually in Manchester, Tennessee. The Bonnamu philanthropy event is a campus favorite and is the unofficial beginning of springtime at Ole Miss. The event welcomed friends, parents and music lovers alike.
The fraternity bands were able to live out a rock and roll fantasy in front of a packed house at the Lyric, all while helping Phi Mu raise money for a good cause. The night consisted of a large variety of cover acts, ranging from Van Morrison to Justin Timberlake, Red Hot Chili Peppers and a rather peculiar Iggy Pop inspired set.
At the end of the night, Sigma Chi won first prize for the third consecutive year with an impressive rendition of Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” and Bruno Mars’ “24k Magic.” Sigma Pi earned second prize and had the crowd rocking with a three-song set that included Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Can’t Stop” and the classic rock staple “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf. Sigma Nu took home third place with a spot on impression of Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons as they sang “December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)” and closed out the competition with MGMT’s “Kids.”

As the competition drew to an end, special guest Sam Mooney took the stage. The Mississippian and Ole Miss alum is a successful singer/songwriter who’s EP Somewhere In Between can be found on iTunes and Spotify. Mooney treated the audience to covers of Maroon 5 and Justin Timberlake.

By Colin Sullivan, an intern for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at cdsulli1@go.olemiss.edu.
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