Courtesy of Ben Folds and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Singer-songwriter Ben Folds performed SAB’s Spring Fever concert in 2010, followed by Motion City Soundtrack in 2011.

Outdoor music festival will replace traditional headlining performance

At the moment, it may seem like the pleasures of springtime are light-years away.

As students settle into the new semester and look over their syllabuses, it becomes certain that the luxuries of Winter Break are over and that tests and papers are looming in the near future. The old tale rings true — all things seem bleak when even the sun calls it quits by the time five o’clock rolls around. Nevertheless, spring is on its way, promising sunshine, warmth and, of course, palm trees.

Along with these delightful feats of nature, this spring will bring with it a new SLU tradition. Instead of the usual Spring Fever concert hosted by the Student Activities Board, SAB is planning a spring festival for students.

“We want this event to be a combination of Quad Day and the spring concert,” Christi Thieben, SAB President, said. “Students can expect an outdoor festival in April, with at least three bands with different types of music.”

SAB is planning for the music event to feature smaller artists playing throughout the afternoon. By having artists playing music from different genres of music, SAB hopes to reach a wide range of students. Hosting a few smaller artists, as opposed to one big performer or group, will be a relatively new feat for SAB, but they are excited for the challenge.

“Just because an artist is smaller doesn’t mean it isn’t what students want to hear,” Thieben said.

SAB is also hoping to collaborate with different local businesses and restaurants for the event, and plans are being made to have free items and giveaways available for students.

Thieben said that the event will no longer be referred to as “Spring Fever,” as it has in the past. SAB hopes to create a new image for the event, and felt a name change was necessary. A tentative name for the event is “The SLU Festival,” but SAB is open to suggestions.

According to Thieben, one of SAB’s main goals is to “get people invested in the event.” In addition to the student body, SAB also hopes to get various student groups involved with the festival, which will take place on campus. Games, food and activities will stretch from the back of Griesedieck to the Georgetown parking lot.

When considering the decision to change from the annual Spring Fever concert to a festival style event, weather was certainly a factor.

“Everyone is happy in the spring, and there are good vibes outside,” Thieben said. “College students seem to enjoy outdoor festival events, and many universities already have them.”

Putting on a big show like October’s Lupe Fiasco Homecoming concert is “really different from putting on a festival,” Thieben said. Without the assistance of Chaifetz personnel provided for Homecoming, it is up to SAB to take further initiative. Everybody on the board is on a committee, each of which is responsible for tackling a different aspect of the planning process.

“We wanted to do something that the students felt like was theirs,” Thieben said of the festival, as opposed to a traditional Spring Fever concert event. “It’s a lot of work, but we’re hoping that the students will enjoy the final product.”