Keene State College students gathered in the L.P. Young Student Center and waited in bated breath as this year’s Spring Concert was announced on Monday, March 7. When members of the Social Activities Council unrolled the poster and hung it from the second floor railing above Lloyd’s, the artists were finally revealed: Lupe Fiasco and Kid Ink.
KSC students Bryanna Pearson and Connor Turmelle are both members of SAC and played big parts in getting such big names in hip-hop.
SAC’s events coordinator Turmelle, now a senior, has been part of the Social Activities Council since his first year at KSC.
Turmelle explained, “I joined four years ago when I was a first-year and I fell in love with the organization.”
Like Turmelle, SAC’s concert coordinator Pearson has been with SAC since her first year at KSC.
“SAC brings many different activities to the KSC community, and the spring concert is just one of them,” Pearson explained.
The concert will take place on April 15, in the Spaulding Gymnasium on campus. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the show will begin at 7 p.m., when Kid Ink and Lupe Fiasco will each perform a 60-minute set. Tickets will cost $20 for students and $40 for the general public.
Pearson promises that the line to get in will go faster than last year’s Big Sean concert, when many students waited in the slow-moving line for hours only to miss the beginning of the show.
Turmelle explained the booking process, where Pearson worked with an agent at Concert Ideas Inc. to book artists that SAC agreed KSC students would recognize and enjoy.
“[Pearson] works with the E-board and the Concert Committee to think of ideas that would go over well at Keene State,” Turmelle explained, “Pearson works with Brett Pasternak an agent at Concert Ideas Inc…to see which artists are up for conversation dependent on the budget we are working with at that time. Once the committee is able to think of some good ideas, Pearson then puts in offers with Brett and then we wait to hear back on the offer being thrown out there for discussion.”
Both Pearson and Turmelle said they believe that the concert choices will go over well with the students at KSC.
Turmelle said, “I feel that a majority of students attending KSC are into their hip-hop music right now. Although KSC has had a lot of rap artists, which students seem to enjoy, change is a good thing which is why hip-hop will go over well. Plus Lupe Fiasco and Kid Ink are both very well-known names, so that is another reason people are likely to buy tickets while they last.”
Pearson is pleased with the feedback she has already been receiving from students.
“Our social media has been blowing up in excitement so that’s always a good feeling,” Pearson said.
Excited tweets flooded SAC’s personal Twitter account like “Pumped that the spring concert is @Kid_Ink and Lupe Fiasco! #KSC” from @austinWheelz and “Kid Ink and Lupe Fiasco…I am pumped” from @tjledbury.
KSC sophomore Kevin Aruilio said that while he tends to like all kinds of music, hip-hop and rap tend to be his least favorite genres.
“I would love to see a good rock band at a KSC,” Aruilio said, “I’ve wanted to go the spring concert this year and last year, but I’m just not satisfied with the artists.”
Aruilio went on to say that while he personally does not approve, he’s not necessarily against SAC’s choice of musicians.
“If the Keene State students really do want artists like [Lupe Fiasco and Kid Ink] to perform at the school by majority, then they deserve to have them come. I’m not going to judge people’s taste in music, and majority does rule in this case. Although I’m sure a lot of Keene State students would also enjoy something different,” Aruilio said.
While Aruilio may not enjoy the concert, plenty of other KSC students are looking forward to April 15, and members of SAC are also getting excited about the approaching concert date.
Turmelle said, “Working with SAC has taught me a ton and one important thing it has taught me is how to event plan and the steps to go through to allow for a successful show. I love working with everyone involved in the Social Activities Council from general members to the E-board on ideas to bring to campus that KSC students are going to be interested in and allow for a successful event.”
Jill Giambruno can be contacted at jgiambruno@kscequinox.com
