The UNA Alumni Association is hosting The Secret Sisters and firekid featuring Dillon Hodges for its annual alumni concert Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. at Norton Auditorium. 

Director of Alumni Relations Carol Lyles said when she tried to book The Secret Sisters, she realized Dillon Hodges was a perfect fit for the concert.

“Last year we had a complete sell out with the Civil Wars and they have that same flavor,” Lyles said. “He has a soft, sweet sound with melodies that blend right in with that concert.”

Hodges said he is humbled to be returning to UNA to play so early in his career.

“It’s exciting and it didn’t take long for me to decide I wanted to come back,” he said. “There’s many wonderful alumni who could’ve been asked.”

Hodges is too talented not to rise to stardom said Ashley White, a UNA student.

“I like the idea of him playing a formal concert here to maybe kick off his new style,” White said. “This is a good crowd to premiere that to.”

Hodges is currently transforming his style of music to a totally new format and will be debuting at the alumni concert, he said. 

“The sound developed very quickly,” Hodges said. “We both shared a vision of combining a sort of urban sound with a rural sound – a sound of the past with a sound of the future, I guess. We started putting down some tracks. It sort of snowballed and I realized that I need to be putting my time into this.”

UNA student Seth Harbison said he has not heard the new tunes yet, but he heard it was a big change from his current style.

“I think it’s good for an artist to evolve and change it up,” Harbison said. “I don’t know what to expect exactly but I don’t think I’ll be disappointed, mainly because I trust he’ll be good at whatever it is.”

Transferring from the folk sound in his last album, “Rumspringa,” to a brand new sound, Hodges said the audience should expect to be surprised.

“What people should imagine is me doing what I’ve always done with stronger songs and club beats,” he said. “(Stronger) as a combination of many things like working with songwriters that are more in the pop world. It’s forced me to change the way I’ve thought about songwriting. It’s forced me to grow. It’s been a lot of give and take but (it) always comes out fresh and totally different.”

Lyles said the Alumni Association is a fundraising event and will benefit an amount they have pledged for the new science and technology building.

“We have a massive pledge out there, so we’ll be doing concerts for the next several years,” she said.