PAC has finally chosen an artist and is wrapping up their confirmation process. However, it is still under wraps and will be for the next few weeks. The spring concert is set to take place April 28, according to the CMU marketing department. However, PAC is reluctant to confirm this date until the artist’s contract is finalized.
“We are finalizing our contract for the artist and it should be finished next week,” said a representative for PAC, Gail Howe, who would not reveal any more on the subject. “We will be doing some kind of big reveal, but we aren’t sure what, when or how.”
Many rumors have flown about the performer chosen for this year, including one involving Post Malone, about whether the artist will be rap, country or pop.
Past performers at the free-for-students concert have included Macklemore, Hoodie Allen, Atmosphere and G-Eazy.
The average Programming Activities Council event last year hosted less than two percent of the student body. Last year, 1,262 students attended the fall concert, roughly 13 percent of the student body, according to numbers provided by CMU Student Life in October.
The single annual event costs the organization a great deal. The concert is apportioned nearly half of the PAC budget, $87,694 of the $204,443.
However, last year’s concert which featured American Authors and the 888, had many issues, including the original contract with first-choice X Ambassadors being dropped last minute, according to PAC Chair Mel DiMinno.
“Last year’s concert, we admit, was not our strongest,” DiMinno said in October.
Because of this, the student life organization has been “revamping” and is focusing on quality events over a large quantity of them. They have changed their search process for the concert as well.
One of these changes involves the organization no longer sending out polls for specific artists, only genres, to prevent disappointment in students if the top-choice falls through. The two most sought-after genres seem to be Rap/R & B and Country based on surveys put out by CMU and PAC.
“I would love to see a rapper there because I do think a lot of people here listen to rap, or country” Douglas Owen, freshman, said.
One of the largest budget and most attended events of the year, PAC has worked hard to choose an artist enjoyable by students and now that the contract is being finalized we will soon learn of the spring artist performing at CMU.
