Singer/songwriter and Pennsylvania native Steve Moakler said he still remembers the warm reception he received on the first floor of the HUB-Robeson Center last fall.
Students sat waiting for him to perform as he set up, and even more stopped by on their walks to class to listen.
"It was completely unexpected, but really fun," Moakler said. "It really blew me away, honestly."
Zack Krieger, the Noontime Concert Series Chair for the Student Programming Association (SPA), said the concert with Moakler drew the largest crowd the series had for that semester.
Now, Moakler and SPA hope the artist can replicate that student interest when he comes to the HUB at noon today.
"I don't know if we took a count, but it filled up the entire area," Krieger said.
Moakler, originally a Pittsburgh native, moved to Nashville to attend college at Belmont University. After two years, he decided he was ready to play music full time and perform on tour.
Since his last visit to Penn State, Moakler has performed at colleges and clubs all over the East Coast.
Though he has toured extensively in the Northeast, Moakler said he wants to start concentrating on booking venues in the South.
"There are so many cities within four hours of Nashville," Moakler said -- he's especially looking to visit Atlanta, Birmingham and Memphis.
Moakler said he is inspired by a lot of artists like Ryan Adams, David Gray and Jason Mraz, but his favorite artist is John Mayer.
The young artist said it's a dream of his to play with Mayer on stage, because he is the most "prolific pop-song writer and artist of his generation."
"I respect him more than any other artist," Moakler said.
Moakler's original songs are what he calls "fresh off the skillet," meaning that though only some of the material is new, he understands most people in the audience will not know the difference between the new and the old.
"I still make CDs in my living room," Moakler said. "The record label is still yet to be -- I'm basing all my moves on the 'If you build it, they will come' theory."
Along with his catalog of original songs, Moakler also likes to play covers. One of his favorite songs to play is 'NSYNC's "Dirty Pop" because it is always a crowd-pleaser.
"That song is kind of the flagship," Moakler said. "I try to adapt to the show based on who we're playing in front of."
Krieger said he hopes Moakler will be a good kick-off artist for the rest of the Noontime Concert Series, which will feature artists every Friday afternoon until Thanksgiving break.
