UNC 'Flagstock' erupts in 'USA!' chants as John Rich, Lee Greenwood tells students 'it's OK to be patriotic'

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It's OK to be patriotic. 

That's what John Rich of Big & Rich wanted college students at the University of North Carolina to feel at Flagstock 2024, the concert-turned-music festival he put on in honor of the fraternity brothers who stopped the American Flag from hitting the ground during anti-Israel protests in May, according to Rich's manager, Marc Oswald.

"My question for you is this: Do you still love America?" Rich asked students in the crowd during his performance on Monday at the local American Legion in Chapel Hill.

The crowd responded by chanting, "USA! USA! USA!"

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Rich wanted to host a "protest to support patriotism" — hence the name "Flagstock" — and "make sure students and people in general feel it's OK to be patriotic," Oswald told reporters on Monday when asked about the name of the concert.

Several hundred Chapel Hill students attended the music event, which included performances from Big & Rich, Lee Greenwood, Aaron Lewis and John Ondrasik, a.k.a. Five for Fighting — less than the anticipated 2,000 students organizers expected earlier in the week. Roman Rene Ramirez of Sublime also made a surprise appearance.

Still, those who did show were proud to express their support for the country with "USA" chants, while others wrapped themselves in American or Israeli flags.

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Matthew Broderick, a senior and a journalism major, told Fox News Digital that the "vibes on campus have been very split" in the lead-up to Flagstock.

"There's a lot of people who are in huge favor of this. They love this. And then there's a lot of people who think this is a really bad idea," Broderick said. "I mean, I think some fraternities and sororities have been telling the people … 'Hey, don't come to this. We think it's a bad look.' And then some have been like, ‘Hey, please go to this is. It’s a really good look. It's good for our fraternity and our sorority.' … But I don't think there's a consensus about this."

"It's very split."

— Matthew Broderick, Chapel Hill senior

Back in May, activists on campus tried twice to replace the American flag on Chapel Hill's quad with a Palestinian flag, but when they began taking it down the flagstaff for the second time, a group of students stepped in to prevent Old Glory from touching the ground. 

A student photographer captured the moment that went viral on social media and made national headlines as similar protests occurred on college campuses throughout the country. 

After the photo caught the country's attention, a GoFundMe page created by a man named John Noonan, who initially started the fundraiser to buy "a few kegs" for the students and give his friends a good laugh, ended up raising more than $500,000 to throw the students a "rager." Noonan ended up creating a 501 C-4 organization called Pints for Patriots, complete with a board of directors, to help organize the funds and the event it would eventually grow into.

Then, Rich offered to help by hosting a concert in the student's honor. At first, Rich was planning on putting on a small show in front of a fraternity house, but plans changed when they raised half-a-million dollars, according to Oswald.

Noonan broke down how some of the funds that helped put the show together while giving reporters a tour of the venue on Monday. The stage itself, from Technical Arts Group (TAG) Live, cost $100,000, though TAG also donated a lot of material support for the event. 

"We haven't seen kids do what these kids did in a long time," TAG Live Operations Director Jarrod Choury told Fox News Digital, adding that the students' actions on campus "spoke to" TAG Live to be a part of the concert.

"We haven't seen kids do what these kids did in a long time."

The security budget for the event was approximately $80,000, including plainclothes security, 20 Orange County Sheriff's Office staff, fire and EMS personnel. Pints for Patriots chartered more than a dozen 50-passenger buses to transport students to and from campus, according to Noonan. 

Dan Cragg, an attorney working for Pints for Patriots, offered about $15,000 to $20,000 worth of pro-bono general counsel legal work for the event. 

 "We want to create an incentive system where sticking their neck out like that — defending the flag — there's a there's a bonus for that."

— Dan Cragg, attorney, Eckland & Blando

'What those kids did was honorable and patriotic," Cragg told Fox News Digital. "And we want to support that. ... And certainly, we want to create an incentive system where sticking their neck out like that — defending the flag — there's a there's a bonus for that. There's a reward for that."

Numerous VFW and American Legion personnel volunteered to help put the event together, as well, forgoing their Labor Day to help set up tents, port-o-potties and more.

While the show started out small and somewhat quiet, eventually, a large crowd of Chapel Hill students in attendance found their way to the stage as the night wore on and took part in the patriotic messages that singers presented during their sets.

'What those kids did was honorable and patriotic. And we want to support that."

Noonan told reporters it is unclear exactly how much — of any — leftover funds will go toward charity, but he is determined to remain transparent about what donor money was used for.

"We are extraordinarily cautious and judicious about ensuring the funds are used properly," Noonan told reporters on Monday.