Jeremih to headline SpringFest 2016
Lenny Martinez—The Tech
This year’s SpringFest headliner is R&B and hip hop artist Jeremih. Joining him in the lineup is Kat Dahlia along with two student openers, Boris the Scientist and Yuseff.
Tickets will go on sale today, April 5, for $10 at the MIT student price. The concert is scheduled for Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m.
In choosing the acts for this year’s concert, the UA Events Committee considered several artists, including T-Pain and Lil Dicky, but ultimately selected Jeremih due to his engaging concert presence and in “an attempt to appeal to as much of the MIT community as possible,” Laura K. Yenchesky ’19, an Events Committee member, said.
Divya Shanmugam ’17, an Events Committee member, said that the most popular genres from the survey the commitee sent out were pop and indie.
The UA Events Committee has planned a week of events leading up to the concert. On that Monday, an event will be held to hand out SpringFest swag, including mugs and tank tops. On Tuesday, the Events Committee will host the Upright Citizens Brigade — a comedy group founded by Amy Poehler. The night before the concert will see a DJ Battle. The Saturday after the concert, the committee will partner with SaveTFP for a carnival.
This year’s concert will have a smaller budget when compared against the past concerts with headliners like Macklemore in 2013 and Lupe Fiasco last year.
“Approximately $50,000 to $60,000 goes toward performers per year,” Shanmugam said. “The whole event — meaning staging, external events, lighting, security… — costs approximately $70,000 to $80,000.”
Although most of the money will come from the Student Activities Office’s budget, the committee also got funding from the de Florez Fund for Humor to support the daily events.
In the past, the UA Events Committee has expressed a desire to make SpringFest more like CPW by extending events across campus and by trying to involve more groups on campus. Even though they have a smaller budget for the concert this year, Shanmugam said over email that they’re getting closer to that desired feeling by having an event almost every day.