Everyone who went to Eagle Fest was inspired by Wolfy G’s words on the stage. Gabriel Dials, distinctively known as Wolfy G, was the student opener for the Programming Board’s biggest event of the year.

Dials opened for electronic music group Meduza and rap, hip house artist Flo Rida. Programming Board Director of Concerts Samantha Novak said they sold over 2,400 tickets for this concert and have been preparing for this event since August.

“People kept asking me how I was feeling the whole week and I was like, I’m ready. That’s how it is like I’m ready. I’m ready. I’m ready,” Dials said. “I slept beautifully the night before let me tell you I slept so good, I woke up smiling, sunshine through my windows, I always keep my blinds open, and I said ‘okay, let’s do this, game day.”’

Dials is a senior studying entrepreneurship at FGCU with a minor in computer information systems. He graduates in one month and hopes to pursue music as a career. 

Programming Broad held Eagle Idol on Feb. 7 where students performed for a chance to be the opener for Eagle Fest. This was Dials’ first time performing in front of a crowd and he received the most votes, winning the competition.

“It was so cool to see Gabe take the stage and put on a great performance,” said Novak, a senior resort and hospitality administration student with a concentration in event management. “After knowing he was chosen as the student opener, I know that he put a lot of time and effort into his performance. Seeing him get ready to take stage felt so cool knowing what a huge moment this was for him.”

Novak met Dials while working in Campus Rec. She’s who told him to audition for Eagle Idol.

Dials first memory of appreciating music was in third grade.

“My mom used to always play the song ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong in order for me to go to sleep and that was the only way I could,” Dials said. “And so I remember that being my first kind of love for music, was playing that song as I was asleep.”

His first experience making music was at 11 years old with his cousin. His cousin was around eight years older than Dials and was making music in his home studio. 

“I remember watching all his friends record and I thought it was super cool, so I asked them to show me how to do it and everything, and we made a song together,” Dials said. “I remember being 11 years old, like writing a verse in his room, and then he taught me how to record and he was like mixing and mastering it and everything like that and it was the dopest thing ever.”

At 15 years old, he began to make funny songs with his friends and freestyle with them.

“After a long night or something we were in the [backseat], like freestyling and making music and it was always that type of thing, but everyone around us was always like ‘ yo you could really do this.’ But it still wasn’t something that I took serious, I was kind of focused on other things.”

That moment stuck with him as time passed.

“As I developed and just matured in life, it became a very tangible way for me to express myself, for me to share my viewpoints on the world, for me to just put how I was feeling into a rhythm, into a song, and the creativity just continued to develop and develop and develop,” Dials said.

Last year, he felt that his purpose was to create and share music.

“I felt that God had given me that as a gift, as a talent. Because my voice was important, in order for people to hear, in order for the messages that I’m given, that he gives me, in order for me to get to the world,” Dials said. 

Dials said his spirituality and musicality are inseparable. 

“And so I remember actually, I was in the shower, and I was praying and it kind of just hit me like the wave of like, ‘this is why you’re here like this is why I put me here,’” Dials said. “And I was shedding tears in the shower and then I remember getting out and journaling about it, and that’s the moment that I decided to take music seriously as a career for the rest of my life.”

Dials wasn’t worried or nervous leading up to the performance at Eagle Fest. He knew there was nothing he could do to mess up what’s already been planned for him through Christ.

“It was more so of ‘ okay what can I do to prepare myself the best, so that’s what I was spending most of my time on leading up to,” Dials said. “I knew that I knew the songs, I knew that I would be able to bring just natural energy from having the opportunity on stage. But it was more so of me saying, ‘okay, how do I show them not just my music, but who’s behind the music and who I am as a person.’”

When he ran on stage, it felt natural. It felt like he belonged on the stage.

“It felt like I was supposed to be there and that I was fulfilling my purpose, that I was doing the work that I’ve been assigned to do,” Dials said.

His mom was on stage with him, livestreaming the performance on his Instagram account. He wanted his biggest support system to share this moment with him.

“My mom, she showers me with love, but mostly with wisdom, too. So she’s not afraid to tell me her opinion on song,” Dials said. “She gave me the chorus for Lone Star, as I said that on stage, so she even helps me write some songs in some ways. So she’s a big inspiration to me, just seeing how she raised me and my brothers, and her resilience in life. It’s taught me a lot.”

This was his mom’s first time seeing him perform in front of a crowd. He said his mom was surprised at how comfortable he was on stage.

“So obviously she told me that, you know, I did really good. She gave me feedback on some of the things that she thought in particular,” Dials said. “We went to breakfast the next day, and we talked about it and she was proud. She said that she had no clue I was going to give kind of speech on stage. It was just love.”

His speech centered around his top song “Lone Star.”

“I was talking about how cool stars are, but that the most unique thing about a star is you can only see its full brilliance, its full light, its full magnitude when it’s surrounded by darkness and I think that that’s a beautiful thing,” Dials said. 

“Because as a symbolism for light to me is that a lot of times, you know, we feel like we’re in darkness in life, we feel sometimes that you’re alone, we feel that there’s so much mayhem, chaos going around you in this world. And it’s like, well, where’s the light coming from? But sometimes you are the light, because you’re the Lone Star. And so in those moments of darkness, there’s an opportunity for you to shine more than you’ve ever had to maximize your full potential and to be who you were created and put on this earth to be.”

Dials plans to spend the next year growing his skill set, perfecting his craft and connecting with people with similar aspirations. 

Dials’ music can be found on Spotify and Apple Music. He said this performance was just the birth of his career.

“Saying that I am happy with how the event turned out would be an understatement. I am so incredibly proud of this event, and I am so thankful for everyone who helped and for this amazing opportunity,” Novak said.