Student Entertainment at USU The Student Entertainment Service, also known as the Student Entertainment Bureau, began at Utah State University in 1963 as a branch of the Student Government (ASUSU) as a way for students to develop their talents and draw attention to the university through a variety of entertainment programs and acts. Starting in the late 1960’s, the program quickly grew to include its own recording studio as well as several different vocal and dance groups.

The Student Entertainment Services was home to several performance groups, including the Aggiettes, Village Voices, Calico Performing Company, Platinum, Hands Up, Springfields, Mixed Company, and Bob Welti. Many of these groups performed across the United States, including at high schools, NFL halftimes, and at the Sun Valley resort in Idaho. Several groups also toured internationally, mostly part of the United Service Organizations (USO) performances across Europe and Asia.

Glenn Miller and the Sunburst Lounge The Glenn Miller band at the USU Sunburst Lounge is the most well-known performance group in the Student Entertainment program. The Sunburst Lounge started in 1976 as a fundraising dinner held in honor of Darrlene Lewis, a USU student and part of the performance group Mixed Company. Lewis passed while on the 1975 USO tour with Mixed Company. The ‘Darrelene Lewis Dinner-Show" was held in the USU ballroom in 1976 and would later develop into USU Sunburst Lounge, home to the Big Band performance based on the famous Glenn Miller Orchestra. The Sunburst Lounge productions included many performance groups such as the Aggiettes and the Calico Performing Company. USUs Sunburst Lounge Productions, along with the Student Entertainment Services, ended in the early 2000s.

Balladiers The Balladiers were a group of USU musicians and singers that toured around the Western United States from 1965-1970, with a USO tour to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines in 1968 and several reunion tours in the 1980’s and 2010’s. Labeled a “folk rock” band, they performed as an ensemble, both in person and for radio and commercial television.

Youngtimers The Youngtimers began at USU around 1966 and did several performances at the Sun Valley resort and the Valley Music Hall in Salt Lake City. In the late 1960s, they were picked up by Paul Harvey, a New York booking agent, and were sent on a coast-to-coast college tour as well as set up performances for them at the Garden State Arts Amphitheatre, now known as the PNC Bank Arts Center. The group also toured with the USO in the early 1970s.

Village Voices The Village Voices were another popular performing group at USU in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group was founded in 1968 and was mostly known for their performances at the Sun Valley resort and their USO tours.