Amidst collecting students’ feedback, making plans for future events and deciding what to change, the Large Scale Event (LSE) Committee had a busy summer in order to “put on better shows, bring in better acts, and create a better night all around for Swatties,” wrote Paury Flowers, coordinator of student activities, in a campus-wide email.
While the Committee organized a sensational performance by Childish Gambino in Upper Tarble last semester, its members encountered space limitations, an obstacle that must be solved for future events. According to Brennan Klein ’13, Chair of the Committee, location has always been a concern that the committee aims to answer.
Besides a lack of seating in Upper Tarble, Flowers also pointed out in the email that the Lang Performing Arts Center’s (LPAC) immovable seating makes it difficult for audiences to dance. Many want the large scale event to “have a musical act who is rather well known, to be a safe and inclusive space to party, and (obviously) people want to dance,” she wrote.
Another aspect of the LSE the committee decided to change is its size. Klein stated that redundancy in the committee and lack of specificity in committee members’ positions reduced work efficiency, especially when booking artists.
The LSE Committee is in charge of planning the large scale event, along with Worthstock, an outdoor music show that features live bands. Searching for and choosing artists in the summer, the committee generally aims to hold the large scale event in the fall semester, but venue and artist restrictions usually delay the event to the spring semester. For Worthstock, which has a fixed timing and locale (late April in Worth Courtyard), the preparation process is easier and Committee members begin contacting artists in January.
Currently, the committee has already gotten in touch with over 50 artists and plans to provide a shortlist of three artists who will be voted on by the school for the LSE. The shortlist will mainly be based on both artist availability and popularity amongst students.
Swatties have already taken to sending suggestions to the Committee on which artist to invite for this year’s LSE. “I have very high hopes for this year’s LSE, and I’m pretty sure that my peers will agree with my excitement,” said Klein.
