BY STUDENTS, FOR STUDENTS
Every Spring, Georgia College & State University hosts its spring concert event available to students and alumni. The concert features three acts, including a the winner of Battle of the Bobcats.
The university’s competition led by local and student bands, as well an opener and established headliner act. Past acts have included Young Gravy, Quavo, Wallows, and last Saturday’s band Flipturn.
The weeks leading up to the concert include announcements, mocktail parties, clear bag making, and giveaways. The headliner selection and events are headed by the Student Government Association as well as the Spring Concert Committee. Both groups are headed completely by students and are responsible for everything including booking the artists, social media outreach, and event planning.
Student Government President Serena Semere talked more about this process.
“This is the first time I’ve ever planned an event like this, and it was very intricate from the beginning,” she said. “We started planning the spring concert in September, and from the very beginning, obviously the most time intensive part is getting an artist. My focus though was how can we tailor our spring concert to satisfy as many students as we can.”
Committee volunteer Kellen O’Neal also discussed her experiences planning the concert.
“Picking artists is a very complicated process; it’s a lot more complex than people would think,” she said. “We faced a lot of rejection from the bands we reached to as well as the students.”
Planning one event for over 7,000 students means that not everyone is going to be happy with the choice of music. A diverse student body like GCSU also correlates to what kind of band fits students the best. Flipturn has more than two million monthly listeners on Spotify, but the majority of GCSU students were hesitant to commit to the concert this year. Many students were on social platforms such as “Yik-Yak” voicing their frustration with the selection. A lot of that frustration was pointed at the Student Government Association.
“I do think it’s that we have had high expectations,” Semere said. “I’m hoping that it’s just like a one and done. At the end of the day, I do want to see students enjoying the spring concert and going and taking advantage of this experience especially while they’re here at Georgia College. It’s rare if ever we’re going to encounter these kinds of opportunities in the real world.”
While this year’s turnout was smaller than previous years, those who were there were energetic and eager to see Flipturn. Semere and O’Neill said they hope to see continued support for the concert in the years to come.