If you’re walking past a dormitory on practically any American college campus, there’s a good chance you will hear the song “That Was A Crazy Game Of Poker” from acoustic rock/reggae jam band O.A.R. (Of A Revolution).

The group’s music has practically been a requirement for most college dorm rooms, along with a “Scarface” poster and a lava lamp.

The fivesome, with Marc Roberge (vocals, guitar), Chris Culos (drums), Richard On (guitar, backing vocals), Benj Gershman (bass) and Jerry DePizzo (saxophone, guitar, backing vocals), have gone from playing frat and sorority parties at Ohio State University in the late ‘90s to selling out Madison Square Garden. The group will be coming to KC to perform at 7:30 p.m. July 20 at Capital Federal Park at Sandstone.

Even though O.A.R. is playing bigger venues today, its popularity was rooted in college campuses, where students’ desire to discover new music led to them digging on O.A.R.’s island grooves and relatable lyrics.

“As all that was happening, we were of that age,” DePizzo says. “It was people’s peers writing about what they were experiencing.”

O.A.R. soon expanded beyond universities. After a trio of independent releases and a live album, the band signed to Lava Records and released “In Between The Now And Then” in 2003. This was the band’s first major label, which meant its members had to do a few things they weren’t too keen on. The album was missing a single, so the label made them re-record “Hey Girl,” a song that appeared on two previous O.A.R. albums.

“We were a little reluctant about it, but we were like, ‘This is our first major label and we don’t know what the hell we’re doing,” DePizzo says. “If a band signs to a major label, you’re going to have to do a bit of the dance.”

The album debuted in the Billboard Top 200, and on their 2005 release “Stories of a Stranger,” they tried to write an album full of radio-ready tracks and got a modest hit with their single “Love and Memories.” Making that album was a laborious and tricky task, as was making almost every previous album; the studio being confining to O.A.R.’s need-to-see-them-live feel.

“When it came to making O.A.R. records, I always dreaded it. It was really hard to be O.A.R. in the studio,” DePizzo says. “The studio side of things, we had a lot of work. We had a lot of growth to do.”

But on its latest release “All Sides” on Atlantic Records, the group finally struck a balance between pop-friendly tunes and songs with the old school O.A.R. sound to satisfy early fans. This balance is one the band hopes will catch listeners’ ears and result in O.A.R. being taken seriously, showing they can do more than just reggae and three-chord melodies.

“We were kind of a two-trick pony,” DePizzo says. “There’s just a lot more variety to what we do now than in year’s past... the only way to break out of that college band stigma is to prove them wrong.”