Timeflies and Frenship to perform at 2017 SpringFest concert
Concert talent to be paid $55,000 of $125,000 event budget
Pop duos Timeflies and Frenship will perform at this year’s SpringFest, the Undergraduate Association announced Tuesday at its Artist Reveal. Frenship will open the act from 8–9 p.m. April 28 in the Johnson Ice Rink, and Timeflies, best known for its charting singles “All the Way” and “Once in a While,” will headline the concert from 9–11 p.m.
Early-bird tickets for the event will be available until April 18 for $10, and tickets will be available afterward for $15.
UA Events member Victoria Petrova ’17 said in an interview with The Tech that the UA sought a change from the hip-hop artists who have performed in recent years, spurred by pop being the favored genre among students who took the UA’s SpringFest artist survey.
The UA utilized YouTube performance videos to help it choose this year’s artists. Petrova said that Timeflies had “similar energy to The Chainsmokers” and seemed like it could keep a variety of audiences engaged. In addition, the band was formed at nearby Tufts University, giving it a connection to the area.
The OneWorld @ MIT Festival will take place the day after the SpringFest concert in the same location, so the UA is working with designer Peter Agoos to create a stage that is suitable for both events.
In addition to the concert, SpringFest will comprise a student talent showcase, which may include student musician performers and other displays of ability, as well as a “Carnival-esque swag study break,” at which free paraphernalia will be handed out to students.
The month will also include a comedy and cheesecake event again, featuring professional sketch and improv troupe the Upright Citizens Brigade and MIT’s improv comedy group, Roadkill Buffet.
This year, the UA will spend most of the $125,000 it has budgeted for SpringFest, said Petrova.
$55,000 of this will go towards the concert talent ($10,000 for the opener, and $45,000 for the headliner), compared to $45,000 out of a total budget of $100,000 last year. $25,000 is allocated for the staging, and $23,000 will be used for MIT’s ticketing service, an entertainment license, metal detectors and security, EMS, and other services.