Just before we all fled from campus as fast as we could for our much-needed Spring Break, the UMass University Programming Council announced the lineup for the 2014 Spring Concert: Wale, Slightly Stoopid and the Goo Goo Dolls. The concert is scheduled for Sunday, April 13, at the Mullins Center. Tickets will cost $10 for students.
The announcement was first posted on the UPC’s Facebook page on Sunday, March 9, immediately receiving both backlash and excitement from the UMass community. Parody UMass Twitter accounts like @umassbroad tweeted, “Is the Spring Concert our punishment for Blarney?” while others posted about how thrilled they are to hear the three artists perform live on the Mullins’ stage.
When asked whether or not they were excited for the recently announced lineup, freshman Nick and sophomore Liana said that they were both excited to hear new music and that there is something for everyone to enjoy. Many excited students admitted that the mix of genres, reggae, soft rock and rap, seem to be a little strange but it should still be a good show.
Associate Director of the UPC Nina Haddad said in an email, “We strive to create a lineup that meets the many different tastes represented on this campus.”
Last year, the Spring Concert headlined Tyga and Big Sean with Cobra Starship, Reel Big Fish and B. Smyth. It was basically a four-hour dance party for attendees.
“Last year was more of a rap video,” said sophomore Emily Dench, “which may be more appropriate for a college campus but hopefully it’ll be a good time and people will get into it.” This year’s show should prove to be much more relaxed with a low-key atmosphere, which some students seem to be excited about.
But despite the UPC’s attempt to appeal to a wide range of students, many students seem to think that the Goo Goo Dolls are the only well-known group out of the three, and that they are a little outdated – plus the genres are a weird mix.
“It’s a concert only a select few would go too,” said sophomore Kate Ryan, “The genres aren’t ones that people necessarily like at the same time.”
“With such a large university, we could have done better,” said sophomore Amanda Orton.
Freshman Rachel Cohen said, “I know the Goo Goo Dolls but none of the others so me and my friends aren’t that excited.” Cohen explained that her group of friends will still go because this is their first Spring Concert at UMass.
Most students know the Goo Goo Dolls hit song “Iris” and said that the only reason they would buy a ticket to the concert would be to hear the band perform the song.
“I’m most excited for the Goo Goo Dolls! I’ll definitely go,” said freshman Stephanie Ramos, completely disagreeing with students’ claims that the band is outdated.
Freshman Brendan Mullun and junior Katherine Foley said that they were both most excited for Slightly Stoopid, differing from the majority of students.
With such a wide range of opinions from the UMass community, many students were left wondering how the UPC picks the performers.
According to Haddad, the UPC worked hard to gain a larger budget for this year’s concert so that they would be able to book a range of artists for the many different interests on campus. After looking over the budget and being granted more money, the UPC made a list of names that students seemed to be most interested in seeing live, based off of research regarding students’ tastes in music and demographics of the targeted audience. After they made the list, they contacted an agent in order to see if the desired artists were able to perform the weekend of the concert. Haddad explained that sometimes it’s hard to find artists available because a lot of times the Spring Concert falls on the same weekend as Coachella.
“We probably go through over 100 names before finding artists that fit all of these criteria,” said Haddad. “We end up giving names that later turn out to be unrealistic and as a result we get a disappointed campus. There is just no way to get a cohesive list for voting with the constraints of the booking process.”
The Spring Concert should prove to be a great show with a different group catering to a specific genre. The UPC put in a lot of effort and time to make sure UMass students would have a concert that many different people would enjoy. Rap lovers can enjoy Wale while reggae fans can watch Slightly Stoopid jump around stage, and long-time Goo Goo Dolls fans can sit back and listen to the band rock out. Tickets went on sale the week of March 24. Don’t miss out!