Perhaps the largest and most divided issue among the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks right now is the Programming Activities Council concert. No matter the feelings towards Lil Yachty, he is coming to campus to perform. Some students may be asking why this artist?
Well, according to PAC, the organization behind the concert, it is not a simple process or decision.
“Deciding on an artist is not a one-time conversation, it’s not even a one-week conversation. We put months and months into trying to decide on how we can please the students,” Cassady Lipich, one of only eight students who work in PAC, said.
For PAC, the first step for planning the concert this year was getting feedback from students. The organization put out a poll on genres for months across university media and the student members spoke with friends.
“We do put a lot of effort into listening to the feedback we got from the previous concert,” Lipich said. “We get all this feedback so we can maximize participation on campus and so we can please the most students,” Stavan Vanscoy, another PAC student worker, said.
The poll this year, conducted on Twitter, came out with R&B/rap on top with country as a close second to the most wanted genre by students. Once PAC knows the genre students like, they begin looking for an artist.
“Once we have picked a genre, we start narrowing down artists in that genre and to do that we like to look at the top 50 charts,” Vanscoy said. “After we have an idea of artists that students like and want to hear, then we look at the price. Artists are super expensive and as much as I would love to bring someone like Post Malone to campus, he was $120,000.”
“We try and look for artists on the verge of becoming super popular, so students can have an artist they like but the University can afford them,” Lipich said.
While PAC does put a lot of money into this concert every year, $87,694. That money has to go towards the entire event including the stage and equipment, the security, the fence, and also the artist and maybe an opener. To book only the artist, PAC uses an agency called Concert Ideas to find and request an artist who meets the budget and has the desire to play at colleges.
“Let’s say we wanted Post Malone, Khalid, or Logic, then we have to look at how much each artist would cost if they can come on our date and if they would want to actually perform at a college in an out of the way place like Grand Junction,” Vanscoy said.
“Artists will often have an issue with our location. We might be able to afford them and they might be available on our date but sometimes we contact an artist and they will have no idea what and where Grand Junction is,” said Lipich.
This year the best artist who met all the criteria was Lil Yachty.
“I was a little surprised that Lil Yachty agreed to come and play here since he is so popular,” PAC Chair Gail Howe said. “The dates worked for him, the price was good and he is pretty popular.”
“I think it will be bigger than last year’s concert. We hit a new population with this artist and I think students are going to be really excited,” Lipich said. “However, if you aren’t a fan of the artist this year we don’t want students to take the choice personally because we are listening and we do hear what the students are saying.”
“Regardless of who you are and what music you like, you should go,” Vanscoy recommends. “I don’t listen to a lot of rap but I am excited to see what kind of atmosphere it will bring and I think it will be a lot of fun.”
The event will be held April 28 and will feature Lil Yachty but also Dizzy Wright as an opener. It will be free for students with MavCards as will the afterparty at Mesa Theatre, which will feature relevant DJ’s and rappers to keep the fun going all night long.
“Keep an open mind and go and have fun. You might end up having a blast even if you don’t like Lil Yachty,” Vanscoy said.
