FallFest, the annual West Virginia University event that welcomes students back to campus, will feature live performances from Dashboard Confessional, Common, Rooney and Josh Gracin beginning at 6:30 p.m. Monday (Aug. 20) at the WVU Mountainlair.

In addition to signature concerts atop theLair plaza, FallFest will offer a dance party, comedy shows and a Nicholas Cage film festival.

FallFest events are free for WVU students with WVU ID .

Josh Gracin, the former Marine ofAmerican Idolfame, will open the concert at 6:30 p.m. His self-titled debut album has been certified gold and included the No. 1 country hit,Nothing to Lose,as well as the top five singlesI Want to LiveandStay With Me (Brass Bed).Gracins next release,All About YAll,is due out later this summer and features his latest single,I Keep Coming Back.

Rooneys set will begin at 8 p.m. The five-piece band from Los Angeles has a sound that evokes the 1980s rock and dance styles of David Bowie, The Cure and Tears for Fears. Fresh off a United Kingdom tour, the group has been opening for Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. Rooneys latest album,Calling the World,is a pop-rock manifesto and contribution to the body of work initiated by The Beatles and The Beach Boys and publicized by The Raspberries, Queen and Weezer.

Chicago native Common, known for his intelligent, nimbly performed rhymes and his political consciousness, is scheduled to take the stage at 9:30 p.m. His current album,Finding Forever,tops the Billboard 200 chart this week, further demonstrating his popularity.

Common emerged as a highly influential figure in raps underground during the 1990s with the singlesTake It EZ,Breaker 1/9andSoul by the Pound.While many of his peers were drawing black and white pictures of thugs and gangsters, he was capturing the essence of the average person. His undeniable skill and charisma have earned him five Grammy nominations and two MTV Video Awards for his hit singleTestify,including Best Hip-hop Video. His list of hits also includesThe Sixth Sense,The Lightand his latest single,The People.

Alternative rock band Dashboard Confessional will perform on theLair plaza as the closing act starting at 11 p.m. The group has a string of hits includingScreaming Infidelities,Hands Downand their contribution to theSpider Man 2soundtrack,Vindicated.The bands concerts have been described ashalf arena rock and half revivalist meeting.Dashboard Confessional has toured on the Honda Civic Tour, opened for U2 and was named MTV s Artist of the Year in 2002. The bands latest album,Dusk and Summer,entered the Billboard charts at No. 2.

FallFest 2007 will also offer a dance party in theLair ballrooms beginning at 10 p.m. with sets from Virginia-based rappers Clipse and rapper, disc jockey and producer Pete Rock.

Clipses string of hits includeGrindin,a thundering, instant classic that stormed the pop charts and ushered in a new era of spare, hammering hip-hop. Their latest album,Hell Hath No Fury,is one of lyrics-driven hip-hop in the spirit of East Coast raps early 1990s. Singles includeMr. Me TooandWamp Wamp (What It Do).

Pete Rock first emerged in 1991 as part of a duo with C.L. Smooth, debuting withAll Souled Out.After the duo split up, Rock continued with a solo career that has garnered him worldwide respect. Considered one of the greatest hip-hop producers of all time, he is often mentioned alongside DJ Premier and RZA as one of the mainstays of 1990s East Coast hip-hop production. The dance party begins at 10 p.m. with a set by Pete Rock followed by Clipse at 11:30 p.m.

FallFest 2007 will also include two comedy shows featuring nationally touring comedians Matthew Davis and Ray DeVito at 10 and 11:30 p.m.

Davis has appeared in comedy clubs such as The Funny Bone, the Punchline and The Stardome. DeVito made his national television debut on the PAX network as a featured performer onThe David Lynch Show,performed on the Lifetime network and was featured onEntertainment Tonight.His first full-length comedy CD,1647 Waterbury,can be heard on XM Radio.

TheLair Gluck Theatre will pay homage to Nicholas Cage with a film festival, includingThe Weathermanat 6:30 p.m.,Ghost Riderat 8:30 p.m. andNextat 10:30 p.m.

Gates will open for FallFest at 6 p.m. at theLair, and students may enter through the front door of theLair or the entrance at North High Street across from Boreman Hall.

WVU students are permitted one guest age 17 or older and must obtain a guest ticket at the tent in front of theLair. A tent will be set up in front of theLair beginning at 6 p.m. to assist WVU students with ID questions.

Legal beverages will be available to students 21 and older. Alternative beverages and food will also be available.

Maiden Lane will be closed from 5 p.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Tuesday, and North High Street will be restricted to northbound (uphill) traffic only from 5 p.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Tuesday. Additionally, parking will be restricted on West Prospect Street and North High Street from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Tuesday and on Maiden Lane from 5 p.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Guests are not permitted to bring the following items into the events: cameras, video/audio recording equipment, backpacks, coolers, hard containers, bottles, cans, laser pointers or pets.

The Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) will run until 1 a.m.

For more event information, call 293-4406 or visit WVU Arts&Entertainment online atwww.events.wvu.edu.