REO Speedwagon will be entertaining the attendants of the 2012 Family Weekend on Sept. 29.

The Family Weekend Concert will take place at 8 p.m. on Sept. 29 in Lantz Arena.

Ceci Brinker, the director of the Student Life Office, said the tickets went on sale to the public on Monday, but the parents have had the opportunity to pre-order tickets for about a month.

“We try to give parents a little time to request their tickets,” Brinker said.

Brinker said now that parents have had a little more than a month to request tickets, she thought it would be a good time to let the public purchase them.

Brinker said there are 3,500 tickets overall for the concert. She said about half of those have been sold.

“We are very optimistic that this show will be sold out,” Brinker said.

Tickets are available for $27 over the phone or in person at the Ticket Office in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The ticket office will accept cash, checks, Visa or MasterCard.

Brinker said REO Speedwagon was picked for the concert after random surveys of parents, students and faculty.

Brinker said when they narrowed the list of potential performers to five, they looked at the availability and cost.

Brinker said REO Speedwagon is from Central Illinois, and she thinks it was a great idea to have them perform this year.

“Family Weekend is just such a special weekend on our campus,” Brinker said. “This is the time where Eastern’s family and students’ families come together.”

This is the second time REO Speedwagon has performed at Eastern. The first performance was in 2007.

Brinker said because they have had them here before, they know what their different technology needs are and will be able to accommodate them better.

REO Speedwagon is a rock band made up of five members. Kevin Cronin, lead vocals, guitarist and keyboardist, has been the face of REO Speedwagon for about 40 years.

The other members of the band include guitarist Dave Amato, bass guitarist Bruce Hall, keyboardist Neal Doughty, and drummer Bryan Hitt.

Brinker said she is excited to see how parents react to the concert.

“It’s an opportunity for families, who are familiar with the music, to take a trip down memory lane,” Brinker said. “During our Family Weekend concerts, parents get up and dance.”

Brinker said they like to find groups that are liked by all the different generations.

“Their music never gets old,” Brinker said. “There is a new generation of students, college-aged students. Their music has come full circle with who listens to it.”

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].