25 shows in 25 different cities across 18 states over the span of just 40 days: it is safe to say Kate Voegele has a busy month-and-a-half ahead of her.

After a hiatus from touring since opening for Natasha Bedingfield’s Less is More tour in 2011, Voegele is now headlining her own Wild Card tour, beginning in Virginia just last week and concluding in Indiana at the end of February. Although her show in Atlanta on Jan. 22 was only the third stop after a dry spell of nearly four years, Voegele seemed as cool, calm and collected as ever in front of a crowd at The Earl.

Compared to the majority of top Atlanta venues, The Earl boasts a relatively small music room—the max capacity for the East Atlanta scene is roughly 300—but, the ambiance is undoubtedly powerful. Plus, it creates an intimacy between artist and listener unrivaled by most larger-scale sites.

The opener for the night featured an artist with a similar success story to Voegele’s own unique rise to fame. While Voegele was essentially discovered through video uploads on her MySpace page, Leroy Sanchez achieved recognition via YouTube, where his videos accumulated over 42 million views. An entirely self-taught musician hailing from Vitoria, Spain, Sanchez quickly gained a small but dedicated following since his move stateside three years ago. His pure voice, humbling charm and passion for music led him to sign a record deal with Grammy award-winning producer and songwriter Jim Jonsin in 2010, and his first single was just released on iTunes on Jan. 27.

Sanchez’s first Atlanta show provided a mixed set with a combination of original melodies and popular covers. His soft vocals, akin to the likes of Ben Rector or Jason Mraz, filled the venue with mostly melancholy hits, although Sanchez joked, “I promise I’m a really happy guy.” He additionally covered Mario’s “You Should Let Me Love You” and Sam Smith’s “I’m Not the Only One,” which were popular sing-alongs among the audience members.

With a still-energized crowd, Kate Voegele took the stage by storm with one of her well-known hits, “Manhattan from the Sky.” Voegele—who has three chart-topping studio albums and three additional EP’s to her name—achieved perhaps most fame from her four season-stint on the popular television drama, “One Tree Hill.” Her character, Mia Catalano, was also a singer-songwriter on the scripted show, which allowed Voegele to perform her songs, promote her album and achieve a large fan base amongst the teen soap opera’s dedicated viewership.

Voegele’s set list featured a blend of old and new songs, including “99 Times,” “Sweet Silver Lining” and a beautiful rendition of “Cups.” One endearing moment came when Sanchez rejoined Voegele on stage for a duet of “Caught up in You,” a song off of her newest EP.

Voegele took one moment to pull out a lyric from “Sandcastles,” a line which has served as the “slogan” of her entire tour. She said, “I realized that the line ‘I do believe a song can heal me’ was resonating with a lot of fans…And it’s really true. I’ve had a lot of songs that have gotten me through some crazy times. So I’m going to play some for you.”

Voegele was also able to show her personality to the intimate crowd. Almost every break between songs was filled with conversation between Voegele and her fans, as she continually reiterated her gratefulness to the loyal ones that stuck around throughout her years away from music.

As the night grew late, Voegele announced, “This is the part of the show where a rock band would do a big encore…but it’s kind of awkward for a chick with a guitar to chill backstage and be like, ‘Do they want to hear another?’ So, I’m just going to play another.” The show ended on an eerily lovely acoustic rendition of her classic, “Forever and Almost Always.”

Luckily for her loyal fans, it is likely that Kate Voegele’s previous hiatus will not be repeated anytime soon. The Wild Card tour comes after the recent Nov. 2014 release of her EP, Wild Card, and precedes the much-anticipated upcoming release of her fourth studio album, set for later this season.

When one thinks of music festivals, the same genre and attendees predictably come to mind. With shows like Bonnaroo, Coachella and Austin City Limits dominating the scene and attracting nationwide attention, many think that the “festival” scene strictly caters to these indie and alternative varieties.

However, Atlanta has done its part to change all of these connotations. With the resurrection of Music Midtown in Atlanta in 2011, headliners have included everyone from Eminem to Journey to Zac Brown Band. Plus, May 2013 marked the start of Atlanta’s Shaky Knees Festival, an event for rock music lovers that has featured Modest Mouse, Band of Horses and The Lumineers in past line-ups.

This summer, another type of non-alternative festival is coming to the Empire City of the South, and its genre caters towards a large portion of the southern demographic: it’s completely country!

The Shaky Boots Festival—which is being initiated by the same producers of Shaky Knees—represents the very first top-tier country music event to span multiple days and be held in the state of Georgia.

“Country music has such a rich history in the South,” said Shaky Boots co-founder Tim Sweetwood. “I was surprised that Georgia doesn’t have a first-class festival dedicated to the genre. Music is my absolute passion, and with the overwhelmingly positive response to Shaky Knees in three short years, it just felt like the right time to launch Shaky Boots.”

Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sara Evans, Justin Moore and 20 other renowned country artists are scheduled to perform across three stages during the two-day event in Kennesaw. Specifically, the event will occur on May 16 and 17 and will utilize the KSU Sports and Entertainment Park. These facilities have hosted numerous concerts and sporting events over the years, serving as the home field for the women’s professional soccer team, the Atlanta Beat, and are set to host KSU’s inaugural football season this upcoming fall.

Tickets went on sale Jan. 8, and already seem to be selling fast. Although ticket prices for the show seem a bit steeper than the average country concert price point­—early bird deals feature two-day passes starting at $169, with VIP packages pushing $500—the combined prices of seeing each and every headliner individually make this festival a great deal for any true country music lover.

Whether you know her from her recurring stint on One Tree Hill, her presence on television and film soundtracks including Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and Newport Harbor or from her albums that have peaked in the Top 10 on the US Billboard 200 charts, Kate Voegele has seemingly done it all.

From the start, the 28-year-old singer-songwriter’s career has been anything but ordinary. Inspired by her Cleveland, Ohio, roots and her father’s musicality, Voegele began learning guitar and writing her own songs at the age of 15.

After releasing a few extended plays and earning local radio airplay, she began putting her music on her MySpace page. After being contacted by the social media website’s owner, Tom Anderson, Voegele soon had a record contract with Interscope Records.

The singer described her initial response, saying, “I thought it was a fake message. I mean does Tom really even exist, let alone go on MySpace and send messages to random people? But sure enough, it was totally legitimate, and the next week I was out in LA meeting and showcasing for him.”

From there, the fame and opportunities did not stop: Voegele gained a four-year-long recurring role as Mia Catalano on One Tree Hill, which allowed her to both act and perform her songs on the show.

Voegele continued to achieve notoriety through her chart-topping singles from her own three studio albums—Don’t Look Away, A Fine Mess and Gravity Happens—as well as her prevalence among numerous compilation albums, including DisneyMania 6, the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack and, of course, the One Tree Hill soundtrack.

In the past, Voegele has played alongside chart-toppers including John Mayer, Jordin Sparks and Natasha Bedingfield. Now, she’s the headliner of her two-month-long tour, set to perform at The Earl in Atlanta on Jan. 22.

The “Wild Card Tour” comes after the Nov. 2014 release of her EP, Wild Card, and precedes the much-anticipated upcoming release of her fourth studio album, set for later this season.

It would be nearly impossible to create a film centered on Stephen Hawking’s life story and not have it be unbelievably intriguing. The theoretical physicist, world-renown cosmologist and best-selling author has stunned the world with his hypotheses and ground-breaking discoveries, all while living decades past his short life sentence when diagnosed with ALS at the age of 21.

So, as can be expected, director James Marsh’s The Theory of Everything is undoubtedly fascinating, albeit slightly depressing as viewers watch the physical deterioration of a man and emotional dissolution of his marriage. Still, Hawking’s life story—which has the potential to leave the average audience completely confused given his difficult-to-understand discoveries—is simplified into an easy-to-follow yet thought-provoking plotline. The love story between Stephen (Eddie Redmayne, Les Miserables) and Jane (Felicity Jones, The Amazing Spider-Man 2) outshines both the backdrop of his physics career and the ongoing progression of his debilitating disease. In fact, the playing out of the promise to love “in sickness and in health” is one of the most heart-wrenching and well-established themes in the film, although the storyline of Hawking’s college years and subsequent career are similarly absorbing.

Another shining aspect of the movie comes with the lead actor who plays Hawking, Redmayne.  After six months of studying the mannerisms of Hawking, Redmayne seems to have perfected the portrayal. Marsh notes, “He had to take on enormous amounts of difficult preparation as well as embracing the difficult physicality of the role. It’s not just doing a disability. It’s actually charting the course of an illness that erodes the body, and the mind has to project out from that erosion.”

Furthermore, Hawking even gave Redmayne his blessing and lent his real electronic voice to add another degree of authenticity to the film.

Finally, the film has been admired for its clean cinematography, high quality imagery, stellar soundtrack and superior directing. The film’s stars, Redmayne and Jones as well as its production team and director, Marsh, have already been predicted for an assortment of award nominations in the coming weeks for their work both in front of and behind the camera. The movie is now nominated for four Golden Globe awards including Best Motion Picture, Drama; Best Actor, Drama: Eddie Redmayne; Best Actress. Drama: Felicity Jones and Best Original Score: Jóhann Jóhannsson.

However, the movie undoubtedly has a few glaring shortcomings. For one, deeper research reveals that not all of the information presented is wholly accurate. Although the film was adapted from Jane Wilde Hawking’s memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, the content is likely optimistically slanted.

Because Stephen had to give final approval during the film’s post-production, it understandably presents the legendary scientist in an absolutely pristine light. Left out are the details about his love affair with his nurse and his well-known arrogance that came with young fame. These details would have brought more depth to the film and would have given viewers a deeper understanding of the difficulties of his life.

In The Theory of Everything, Stephen can do absolutely no wrong, to a point that it begs viewers to look up the real truth after viewing the impossible story of a seemingly perfect person.

Additionally, while the entirety of the film presents intriguing and relevant information to the featured story of his life, perhaps its biggest weakness comes with the fact that it ultimately lacks any sort of climax moment. The film instead falls flat, although it can nearly get away with it given the gravity of the material present throughout. Nonetheless, the ending lacks a complete sense of conclusion since the majority of the product lacks a sense of building and action.

Although the slightly erroneous representations and anticlimactic storyline can leave something to be desired, nevertheless, the biopic leaves audiences with a sense of awe and captivation due to the aforementioned strengths: the strong acting, quality cinematography and, most of all, sheer nature of the content. After all, the observation of the life of a man who was given two years to live at age 21 and is still changing the way we view our world at age 72 is, inarguably, riveting and provides one of the most thought-provoking movies of the new year.

Although many students know Tech’s motto in order to win a trivia game or to recite it as a tour guide, “Progress and Service” is integral to the overall atmosphere of the institute.

Whether this pertains to individual feats of volunteerism or some incredible funding by the philanthropic endeavors of various organizations on campus, numerous avenues are available for students to engage with the outside community and give a bit back to the less fortunate around us.

“It’s easy to forget about the intense need for service just outside the confines of the ‘Tech Bubble,’” said Bonnie Gaupp, a third-year INTA major. “Atlanta, as with any major city, has a high rate of homelessness and poverty, which we can sometimes ignore when we only look at the population of our own campus.”

One effort from Tech to better its own campus, benefit various organizations in Atlanta and integrate the entire student body is occurring in a little over one month courtesy of TEAM Buzz.

Malavika Mundkur, a third-year BMED major participated in last year’s Team Buzz event and volunteered at FurKids, Georgia’s largest no-kill animal shelter.

The chilly October morning began with a Dunkin’ Donuts-sponsored breakfast at the campanile, brief group introductions and a round of carpools to the nearby shelter.

After doing a bit of clerical work, operating the front desk, washing windows and sweeping the foyer, the rest of the allotted time was devoted to giving some tender love and care to the homeless kittens and puppies.

Other students in the group helped restock the kennels, clean up the messes and take out the animals for “play breaks.”

“Team Buzz was the perfect way to earn philanthropy hours with friends and give back to the community with a project that fit my passions,” Malavika said.

In general, TEAM Buzz has been able to coordinate a variety of one-day service projects for many years through various corporate sponsorships.

Past projects have included participating in charity races throughout the city, cleaning up abandoned buildings to prepare for future endeavors and converting a parking garage into a homeless shelter.

Many nearby churches, schools and food kitchens also typically reach out to the Tech community to aid in managerial and physical labor matters that keep their operations running smoothly.

As the Team Buzz website states, “The concept is simple; provide a service day that will act as a focal point and allow our campus to come together with a single plan and strategy to improve our community.”

“Georgia Tech’s motto is ‘Progress and Service. Initiatives such as TEAM Buzz summon the very best in us, a commitment that makes a positive impact in our community,” said Institute President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. “My hope is that the [Tech] family will consider volunteerism through TEAM Buzz and Hands on Atlanta, improving the quality of life throughout Atlanta.”

Thousands of students have participated in past years, and the TEAM Buzz planning committee is hoping for a worthwhile turn-out this year as well.

One prominent way that the organization attracts students is via mandatory service hours, whether it be for a GT1000 course, fraternal organization or even a personal goal.

Plus, the day-long service opportunity allows students to easily accomplish four solid philanthropy hours in a fun, social and interesting way.

By incorporating a wide variety of philanthropy organizations into the available projects, TEAM Buzz allows students to pick and choose which types of service activities would be best for their abilities and interests.

“I don’t have enough time to volunteer at humane societies throughout the school year, but I wanted to try to give back, if only for a single day,” Malavika continued.

This year, Team Buzz will occur on Saturday, Oct. 26, beginning at 8 a.m.

The day typically consists of a welcoming breakfast with free t-shirts, brief speeches and break-out sessions as students join a particular project to embark upon.

These community service projects generally last for approximately four hours, before students return to the Campanile for food, fun and relaxation, in addition to the satisfactory feeling of a bit of good karma.

I distinctly remember being a pre-teen, looking longingly at my older brother’s computer screen as he browsed a strange website called “Facebook.” When asked why I could not have the privilege of owning an account, he adamantly insisted that the site was exclusively for college students.

This was late 2004, almost a decade before the site would expand to encompass over 1.5 billion users and earn over five billion dollars in revenue.

This was in the prehistoric era before the advent of the “cover photo” or “poke” or “like.”

This was back when—astonishingly—Facebook indeed excluded non-college students by requiring a “.edu” email address during registration.

Nowadays, middle schoolers, university students and grandparents alike can create accounts, connect to others, and post annoying status updates or comment on friends’ unexciting photographs.

Don’t get me wrong—I love getting the extra, obligatory “like” from my lonely mother on each and every status update or uploaded picture.

However, my grandfather doesn’t understand the use of the spacebar and writes on my wall with a happy, blatant disregard of commas, periods and the English language.

My well-meaning-but-overbearing aunt comments on friends’ tagged pictures, inquiring how my doctor visit went.

I was finally prompted me to think: Should Facebook be restricted to college students?

Disregarding the fact that there could be ways around the “.edu” restriction, limiting Facebook to the 18+ population would surely change the social media world.

Facebook would, in effect, become a rite of passage, a long-awaited prize, a not-so-trivial accolade.

It could become more useful for connecting with other university-aged students in your area—goodbye to the creepy male population on Tinder—and advertising events specifically for the college population.

Plus, there is a certain reassuring—almost comforting—quality in the fact that a website could exist wherein students could post any opinions, comments and Friday night pictures without the threat of being seen by parents, younger siblings or potential employers.

For all its talk of privacy settings and content controls, Facebook’s universal member base reveals everything about your life to people of all age groups.

A college-only substitute or modification for Facebook would fix this problem.

With the growing popularity of using social media presence in evaluating job applicants, a new-and-improved, age-relevant platform could be particularly useful for up-and-coming graduates.

On the other hand, it is understandable from a business standpoint why Facebook has indeed chosen to target a wider demographic.

If age-restricted, the companies that would be interested in advertising on the site would be further limited. Thus, with far fewer users and outside partnerships available, the site’s overall revenue could surely go down.

Plus, other problems could also potentially arise: What about those twenty-somethings who skip the stereotypical path to college or the older population? We all have that aunt that posts lovey-dovey comments on all of our profile pictures.

It’s no secret that these mushy baby pictures and embarrassing statuses have nearly overtaken the Facebook world.

Obviously, simply restricting the registration process to those with “.edu” email addresses would be inefficient, but some other way to create an age limit could significantly transform the purpose, enjoyment and future of social media.

Some websites such as “JustCollege.com” or “CollegeOnly” have already attempted this novel feat, and obviously did not succeed.

Instead, what is needed is a mastermind and original platform on the scale of the original Facebook to take the Internet and social media world by storm.

Ultimately, I believe that this situation and underlying debate is comparable to the difference between a Walmart enterprise and, say, Vineyard Vines.

Walmart is the mass producer to serve the general population and reach out to a wide variety of people.

Meanwhile, Vineyard Vines is an expensive, trendy and notable brand that targets a specific portion of the population.

It’s all a matter of choice at the end of the day. Sure, one population is a bit more exclusive, but isn’t that worth it?

Perhaps I am biased since I have already surpassed the potential 18-and-under constraint, but I think that a new-and-improved site specifically for college students could be revolutionary in upsetting the Facebook monopoly.

Looking at the completely full audience at last Thursday’s Poetry @ Tech reading truly showcased how far the program has come since its inception in 2002. The School of Literature, Communication, and Culture houses Poetry @ Tech and serves as “one of the premier showcases of poetry in the Southeast.” Through generous donations and pure passion, Poetry @ Tech is able to provide multiple recitations each semester from some of the country’s most distinguished poets. Led by Thomas Lux, a Tech professor, nationally-acclaimed poet and the Margaret T. and Henry C. Bourne, Jr. Chair in Poetry, with Ginger Murchison and Travis Wayne Denton, who are current holders of the H. Bruce McEver Visiting Chair in Writing, the Poetry @ Tech program has grown tremendously from its auspicious beginnings over a decade ago. Now, the initiative has larger goals to send poets into schools, provide workshops for an HIV positive group and generally provide more poetry enlightenment and opportunities to the greater Atlanta community.

The Poetry @ Tech program has grown tremendously from its auspicious beginnings over a decade ago.

The first poet to speak at the event at Kress Auditorium was Laura Newbern, a Georgia College & State University professor who has received numerous recognitions for her quietly powerful and lucid collections.

Starting out, Newbern stated in her soft and gentle voice, “I’d also like to thank the weather for being so complimentary for what I chose to read.” And the poems that followed certainly paralleled the dark and dreary conditions outside, to a point. Starting with a somber and beautiful poem by Frank Stanford titled “You,” she then delved into her own works, each of which contained an edgy light-heartedness. Pulling inspiration from her love of soap operas, her home in Milledgeville and her nostalgic childhood, her poems seemed to sound like works of prose, with a graceful story interwoven into each one. Newbern finished by stating, “If my book tells any story, it’s a story about love and longing…the longing of a quiet observer and the world.”

Next was Dan Veach, who recently published his first book of poems and ink paintings titled Elephant Water, who began his reading by translating others’ poems from various languages, including Arabic and Chinese. Veach lightened the mood and had the audience laughing with blithe, amusing and playfully intelligent poems such as “God Spelled Backwards” and “Wear and Tear—A Poet to his Underwear.” Other works of his, such as “The Truth About Spring” which personifies winter in Boston, included an array of breath-taking literary and rhetorical devices; as Thomas Lux succinctly described, “Dan Veach’s quiet yet passionately intense poems let us journey companionably with him.”

The last poet to present—and undoubtedly the biggest crowd-pleaser—was Thom Ward. With six published books, Lux described his poetry as “breathtaking in imagination and energy…about as alive as alive can get.” Ward began by remarking, “Laughter is encouraged and welcome,” and his humor did not disappoint.

Ward’s array of poems included “In Defense of the Landline” which was a playful spin on problematic cell phones to the tune of the “Five Little Pigs” nursery rhyme, as well as poems inspired by an assortment of comical topics: cockroaches, Humpty Dumpty, toilet seats and his love for the Boston Red Sox, to name a few.

The night was enjoyable for Tech students and notable attendees alike.

Ultimately, the night—complete with snacks, wine and $500 worth of free, autographed books by the poets – was enjoyable for Tech students and notable attendees alike.

For those interested, LCC courses, certain English classes and numerous free workshops specifically focused on poetry are continually offered, guaranteeing that students’ ardor for the arts is enriched and appreciated even here at Tech.