The amazing Stefanie took some time to write up a report about Newcon. You can read it below!

The weekend started out with a Welcome Bash on Friday night with hors d’ oeuvres and karaoke. We were all hoping that the Monkeys would make an appearance, but they didn’t; Jackson told us on Saturday that they were writing songs and that is why they didn’t come. Even without the Monkeys, the night was a lot of fun. I saw Jose Zuniga (the Biology teacher) hanging out for a while, and I believe Kimbra Hickey (the hands of Twilight) and Ned Bellamy (Waylon) were also there. I was blown away by some of the karaoke singers; there was a lot of talent in attendance at NewCon.

Saturday morning started with the Webmaster and Writing Q&A. I don’t remember all the panelists’ names, but Twilight Lexicon, Twilight Facebook, and Twilighters Anonymous were all represented. The Acting and Modeling Q&A followed with Jackson Rathbone, Kimbra Hickey and Jose Zuniga. Next up was the Music Q&A, with Ben Johnson (100 Monkeys), three of the guys from Tin Tin Can, one of the guys from The Stevedores, and a guest from another band (that I didn’t catch the name of). Last, but definitely not least, was the Art Q&A with Kelly Rathbone. All of the Q&A sessions were a lot of fun. Jackson had us all laughing throughout the session with him. I was very impressed with the questions people asked, and so were the panelists. Jose and Jackson both said that they liked the questions that were being asked. Kelly talked about her art for a while, but she also talked a little bit about Jackson. You could tell that she is extremely proud of him.

Throughout the day there was a “Design a T-shirt” contest. The winner’s shirt will be made, and all the proceeds will go the Spencer Bell Legacy. After all the Q&A sessions, there were Autograph and Photo Ops with Ned, Jose, and Jackson. Then there was a jam session with the 100 Monkeys. That is one of my favorite events of the weekend. It was so different than seeing a concert. A few people had their own instruments and joined in with the guys, and towards the end Jackson passed out instruments to some of the audience.  Following the jam session was the Ball. The concert at the Wildhorse Saloon followed the ball. I was amazed at how long the line was outside the Wildhorse. It was a great turnout for the concert, and of course the show was amazing. Tin Tin Can opened the show and then the Monkeys came on. They said good bye, but then came back out for an encore of three or four songs.

The guys flew out of Nashville a few hours after the concert got over, but the weekend events were not over. On Sunday morning there was a Coffee Chat with Jose Zuniga, followed by a Twilight Trivia Contest. The prizes for the contest included free tickets and backstage passes for the 100 Monkeys upcoming tour, as well as a song about the winner, and the grand prize included a dinner with the guys.