Get ready to start hearing a specific artist being played all around campus in a few short days because the Gannon University Activities Programing Board (APB) soon plans to reveal the artist for the 2016 spring concert.
On Friday, APB is hosting a concert reveal party at The Knight Club where there will be a photo booth, free food, ticket raffle and, of course, the long anticipated announcement of the concert headliner.
The concert is being held jointly by Gannon University and Edinboro University at the Erie Insurance Arena. This is not the first time that Gannon and Edinboro have collaborated for a sponsored concert.
In 2012, the two schools worked together on a concert that featured The Fray, Jacks Mannequin and Andy Grammar at the Erie Insurance Arena, then referred to as Tulio Arena.
The Fray, a Denver established quartet that showcases piano-based pop rock, was the main draw for the concert. The band was formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King.
Their debut album, “How to Save a Life,” was released in 2005 and gained great success with their first single “Over my Head (Cable Car).” However, it was their second single, “How to Save a Life,” for which the album is named, that catapulted them into fame and even scored them a Grammy Nomination for best album.
In 2009, the release of their album “The Fray” landed them spot seven on the Hot 100 Chart for their song, “You Found Me.”
Given The Fray’s popular pop-rock sound and their numerous chart hits, it makes sense that they were chosen for the spring concert a few years ago.
More recently in 2014, the concert sponsored by Gannon alone was a techno-pop duo, Timeflies, with special guest rapper, Mike Stud.
Timeflies is known for their YouTube covers and original music that has an electronic dance feel with pop lyrics and rap verses thrown in the mix.
The duo consists of producer Rob Resnick and vocalist Cal Shapiro. The pair met at a party at Tufts University where Shapiro freestyled to Resnick’s beats, and they began recording together in the spring of their senior year. In 2011, their debut album, “The Scotch Tape,” rose to the No. 2 spot on the iTune pop chart within a day of its release, and in 2012 their first EP, “One Night,” rose to the No. 1 spot in the same amount of time.
Although Timeflies doesn’t have as big a star power name as The Fray, the concert was still successful due to the upbeat party sounds of both Timeflies and Mike Stud.
With previous concerts featuring alternative rock and pop/rap styles, current students are wondering what comes next.
Will the next concert feature an artist of a completely different genre, or will it shadow successful guests similar to previous years?
Earlier in the school year, APB ran a poll in which students were asked to vote on which style of music they most prefer.
APB concert chair Elizabeth Gauriloff said they conducted the poll early in the fall to ensure that they had enough time to gather all of the information needed.
“It’s not really practical to vote by artist, because there are really no guarantees in the music industry,” Gauriloff said.
Freshman physician assistant major Rachel Nye, said she hopes that the next concert may feature a country artist.
“I really like country music and I think given the previous concert choices, this year’s concert may be a country artist,” she said. “Although Erie is a more urban setting, I think there are a lot of students who would enjoy a country person.”
Other students are open to a wider range of genres and artists.
Freshman physician assistant major Emily Allen said she thinks that she’ll enjoy the concert, no matter who it is.
“I listen to all types of music so I’d like just about anyone,” she said.
No matter what name is announced on Friday night, APB has expressed that it is excited to announce the concert and it has put a significant amount of time and effort into planning this event.
“We’ve been keeping this secret for a while,” Gauriloff said. “Granted, it is a little nerve-wracking for something of this magnitude, but we are confident that students will be excited.
“My vision for the concert is just a really feel-good event where everyone can come enjoy themselves, and we really want to bring that feeling to the launch party to kick off the overall event.”
OLIVIA BURGER
