Clockwork DJ revealed as opening act for St. Joe’s Spring Concert
After months of planning and negotiating, the spring concert committee has signed a contract with the artist for the 2017 Spring Concert.
The 2017 spring concert at Saint Joseph’s University will be held on April 27. Doors will open from 7:45 until 9:30.
Mac Miller will be the headliner for the spring concert accompanied by Clockwork DJ as the opening act.
“I think Mac Miller is going to bring a lot of energy, a lot of excitement,” said Melissa Mayard, assistant director of the Office of Student Leadership and Activities. “I think the artist is a household name, generally speaking, folks know who this artist is.”
The SJU Spring Concert Committee has been working since November to plan an artist for this year’s show, and received a bid from the artist in January. The committee made the official announcement to the university on March 21.
“We provided the school with a list of different artist names in the fall and based off the students vote, we go through the list, starting from number one, and we see if they are available, if we are willing to perform for the price we are paying; there is a lot of different factors that go into it,” said Sabrina Schielein, ’18, co-chair of Spring Concert committee. “That is how we start and then we work our way down until we find a match.”
The committee works with a middle agent, which connects with the agents of artists who are willing to perform at college shows.
“The thing that a lot of people don’t understand is not every artist is even willing to do a college show because there are different factors that go into a doing college shows,” Mayard said. “There are a lot more guidelines, rules and regulations, especially if it is a Catholic Jesuit school. So content is something a lot of artists have to be willing to adjust to when they do college shows.”
When finalizing an artist to perform at the spring concert, the committee must find an artist who is willing to do a college show, is available and in the area, is going to do well at the institution and is able to perform for the price.
“We get $112,000 of the student activity fee,” Mayard said. “So the $112,000 subsidized most of the cost from the concert and then from there, putting production aside, we say ok, we can spend anywhere up to about $85,000 on an artist.”
Past spring concerts at St. Joe’s have included Panic! at the Disco, Ludacris, Macklemore and Lupe Fiasco.
“It [hip-hop] is definitely a genre that will connect with St. Joe’s more than Panic! at the Disco did,” said Ross McDaniel, ’18, co-chair of the spring concert committee.
McDaniel explained how much planning is involved up until the day of the show now that the artist is confirmed.
“We have wanted to do more than we have done in the past here at St. Joe’s in terms of the concert and the experience of the concert,” McDaniel said. “We are doing a theme this year, it is going to be a glow show.”
14 students make up the Spring Concert team that helps in planning every aspect of the concert.
“We have four different committees on our team,” Schielein said. “There is publicity, hospitality, safety and security, and production.”
The four committee do everything from getting the word out and getting the university excited, ordering the food for the artist and their team to working with outside security firm to make sure everybody is safe and setting up the stage the day of the show.
Spring concert tickets are $5 for all seniors. From March 21–26, tickets are $12, $15 from March 27–April 16 and $20 from April 17 until the day of the concert at 5 p.m.
Students can purchase up to four guest tickets for $30 each.
Seniors must purchase their tickets from the information desk on the second floor of the Campion Student Center. The rest of the students can purchase them on sjutickets.com.
“Whether it be $5, $10, $15, or $20 and if it is Panic!, Ludacris, or Macklemore, you are not going to be able to go to any of those concerts for $5 or even $20,” McDaniel said.
In addition to the artist and opening act, there will also be a student opener.
“I think it really gives a great opportunity to get people involved in the concert in different ways,” Schielein said. “It could also bring more people to go to the show if the opener’s friends all come and people want to support, so not just for the artist but for your classmates as well.”
Schielein believes that as a university, St. Joe’s is fortunate to have a spring concert.
“There are also other schools, like Philadelphia University, that don’t have a spring concert,” Schielein said. “I think it could be taken for granted sometimes, like not every school gets to have one and it is really a privilege that we get this budget and have the ability to put on something like this for the students. It is something different that really stands out and brings everyone together.”