The 15-second spiel in and of itself is an easy sell: 2 Chainz, Lil Yachty, & Desiigner performing at the Crisler Center right before exams (talk about a good study break) with plenty of super cheap student tickets available. Hype! Say no more, we’ll be there.
But what you might not realize is that SpringFest — put on by MUSIC Matters and Universal Music Group — entails so much more beyond its gigantic concert headlined by a dynamite trio. So sit back, drink it all in, let me educate you why you *must* attend SpringFest.
The overview:
SpringFest is the next generation festival designed to discover and launch THE NEXT BIG THING across every field including arts, technology, sustainability, social activism & identity, music, sports, health, food and more.
Attracting the brightest young minds from around the world, SpringFest is a cultural expression of the way that young people are reshaping every industry and aspect of society. We’re more than just music fans; we’re foodies, yogis, coders, writers, thinkers, believers, and lifehackers.
This year is *especially* exciting, as Universal Music Group — the world’s largest record label — made the historic decision to enter the live music space by partnering with MUSIC Matters at the University of Michigan to help scale and pilot the largest lifestyle festival on a college campus in the United States.
Yeah, you read that right — THE LARGEST lifestyle festival on a college campus in THE UNITED STATES.
SpringFest is the brainchild of MUSIC Matters, an organization which — essentially — assembles and executes this massive event centered around music, and donates the profits to local philanthropies. It’s a perfect formula — you get to enjoy your favorite artists at an incredible on-campus performance for student-priced tickets, and the funds go towards incredible local causes. Talk about a genius combo!
The backstory:
MUSIC Matters started with 10 freshmen in a dorm at the University of Michigan — I kid you not, ten 18 year-old kids with a shared passion for music and social justice and innovation. The group of 10 identified three problems that they wanted to solve:
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A gaping market need: there were no concerts happening at the University of Michigan
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A clear student need: there was no way for student entrepreneurs to launch their social ventures
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An obvious community need: there was no event to bring together the entire Michigan community in the spring
Since MM wanted the festival TO MATTER (how they landed on their name), they realized that they could use the proceeds from the show to create a social venture fund: empowering young people and allowing them to help identify the NEXT BIG THING in SOCIAL VENTURES.
Since its inception in 2011, MUSIC Matters has brought J. Cole, Ben Folds, 2 Chainz, Common, and Migos to the University of Michigan. Furthermore, MUSIC Matters has made incredible philanthropic contributions through its past events, donating $10,000 to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and $50,000 to the creation of the first “student-for-student” scholarship model in the country.
The now:
This year MUSIC Matters is fundraising to create the first-of-its-kind summer civic-leadership program for Detroit high school students. In order to see this dream to fruition, MUSIC Matters is bringing together world-class psychology, sociology, and education researchers from around the world with leading youth empowerment practitioners in order to create the MUSIC Matters Summer 2017 Campus Experience.
The program, called “MOvE: Michigan Overnight Experience” provides metro Detroit high school students an opportunity to spend an exciting night in Ann Arbor where they will tour campus, build friendships, and learn valuable information about the college experience from University of Michigan officials and current students.
MUSIC Matters is not only responsible for this incredible festival headlined by three of the BIGGEST artists in pop culture, but now they are ALSO creating their own academically-focused nonprofit program (MOvE) that the profits from SpringFest will fund.
Talk about innovation.
The big picture:
In just 5 short years, MUSIC Matters has made great strides in uniting our campus through music, supporting numerous charitable causes, and giving a platform for emerging innovators.
So now that you understand the whole of MUSIC Matters’ mission through SpringFest, here’s what SpringFest will look like:
On Friday April 14, you’ll find:
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60+ student organizations representing the efforts of 2,000+ students
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Representation of students from every school within the university
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10,000 students in attendance, enjoying music together
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20-30 student startups in “Startup Village”
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7+ live activations by corporate sponsors
Plus, SpringFest is the largest student zero-waste event on campus
So get your tickets! Any university student is eligble to buy tickets at the student price — that means students at University of Michigan, Michigan State, Washtenaw Community College, Eastern Michigan University… anyone!
Get ready to enjoy the biggest and best event at the University of Michigan each year!
Photos courtesy of Paige Brady, The Michigan Daily, and MUSIC Matters.