Guster will headline this year's Apr. 29 Spring Fling concert, the lineup of which will also include hip-hop band Blackalicious and indie act The Slip, Concert Board announced Saturday at Tufts' Battle of the Bands.
In choosing the concert's rock act, "Guster was the standout," said Concert Board Co-Chair Devra Bergman, a sophomore. "We got a great response - they are a huge band at Tufts."
Guster, made up of Tufts alumni Ryan Miller (LA '95), Brian Rosenworcel (LA '95) and Adam Gardner (LA '95) last played on Tufts' campus at Spring Fling in 2001.
Guster also fell within Concert Board's price range of approximately $70,000 for all three bands.
"We really didn't have any issues getting them," Bergman said of Guster. "They're really looking forward to coming back to Tufts."
Guster's selection also reflected a changing trend in Spring Fling band lineups, which have traditionally included a small indie band, a medium-size rock act and a hip-hop headliner.
Concert Board decided to switch up the order this year with a rock headliner, medium-sized hip-hop act and a small indie act.
The acts will still run in their traditional order, however: Guster will play second, as they are playing a show that evening at Amherst.
As for Concert Board's choice of a hip-hop act, "there was not one act that stood out as much," Bergman said. "We had a long list of choices we went through with our agent. We gradually narrowed it down, and got a very good response," after deciding on Blackalicious, a California hip-hop duo.
"They're getting really big," Bergman said. "They've been around for a very long time. Their sound has similarities to [those of] The Roots and Outkast."
Concert Board had a hard time catching an indie act, as many performers were performing in a California indie music festival that weekend.
Its members ultimately chose The Slip from a list of over 70 possibilities.
"They're a very fun, upbeat opener," said Bergman, who described the band as "Apollo Sunshine meets Broken Social Scene."
Gauging student interest for different acts was a complex process, said Co-Chair Sarah Fleischmann, a sophomore.
"We're just trying to get a variety of bands to please as many people as we can," she said, adding that Concert Board used various resources, including Facebook, informal surveys and anecdotal evidence, to get a sense of student interest.
The first performer in the concert, however, will be Melodesiac, the winner of the Apr. 8 Tufts Battle of the Bands. In this contest, five bands competed for the privilege to open Spring Fling.
"They're sort of a hip-hop group; they seem to be one of the most popular bands on campus," Fleischmann said. "They're really excited."
The big question for Spring Fling, however, is the unpredictable Massachusetts weather: The event was completely rained out in 2003, and last year's headliner Busta Rhymes did not perform due to inclement weather.
Concert Board is in the process of negotiating weather insurance for the show. No change has been made, however, to the current policy that prohibits an inclement weather concert from being moved into the Gantcher Center gymnasium.
"We still can't do that," Bergman said. "We run into issues of community. For those surrounding houses, [a concert] is really loud."
Tickets for Spring Fling will be free for Tufts students, and will be available for pickup in the campus center from Apr. 24 until Apr. 28. Tickets will still be available at the campus center info booth until 12:30 p.m. on Apr. 29.
Students may bring up to five guests who are non-Tufts students. Guest tickets are $20.
CORRECTION: APR. 11, 2006 Another News article yesterday ("Guster will return to Tufts to headline 2006 Spring Fling," Apr. 10, 2006) failed to mention that AppleJam will be hosting Brooklyn's The Hold Steady to play on a smaller side stage during the three main stage set changes.
