Before the first week of the fall semester ends, Beasley Coliseum is hosting a country group that calls Pullman home, and seeks to make this Saturday night memorable for ticketholders.

During their recent time as students at WSU, Luke and Isaac Olsen started to take their music seriously, developing their band and musical identity with songs inspired by the atmosphere of Pullman. Soon after, The Olson Bros Band was born.

“We try and draw on real life experiences for our songs,” said frontman Luke Olsen. “We actually wrote a song called ‘Why Not,’ me and my brother, about his feelings upon graduating and his experiences at WSU.”

It was a similar inspiration that helped the group win the Texaco Country Showdown last year, getting the band national recognition for the song “Sunrise.” Out of thousands of entries from across the nation, it was the Olson Bros that were awarded Song of the Year. Even though the band was flown to Nashville and introduced at a packed Grand Ole Opry, they say their jitters are at an all-time high as the Beasley stage gets closer.

“The excitement is off the charts for all of us. We have not played a stadium before so we have not had a sound system this big. Especially coming back to where it all began. It’s really cool to be coming back after just a year,” Luke said.

While the band is eager to be back in the Palouse, the goal is still to focus on the performance. As Isaac Olson explained, the band is determined to put on a quality show.

“I think I am a little more nervous for this one because it’s the biggest venue we’ve played, but I am not afraid anything will go wrong. We are pretty tight as a band,” Isaac said.

The show will include changes in instrumentation from the Olson Brothers, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and interchanging lead vocals.

Behind the scenes Saturday night, Beasley Coliseum Director Leo Udy will be sharing in the excitement of the Olson Bros homecoming show.

“They approached me quite a few months ago about the possibility of doing a show, so they came in, discussed it, and we decided to give them a break and an opportunity to showcase what they can do,” Udy said. “So I think they’ll bring a lot of energy.”

In just a few short years, the Olson brothers went from pursuing a civil engineering and a business degree, to getting national recognition and headlining their first stadium show in a town that feels to many like a second home.

“I’ve missed the people and the atmosphere. It’s like a big family here,” Luke said. “All the friends that I had are all so welcoming and supportive of the music so it really is great being back.”

Tickets for the Saturday night show are $12 online at http://beasley.wsu.edu/ or can be purchased at the door for $15. The show is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. with opener Aaron Crawford.