With plans for this year’s Springfest already underway, I, like so many others, find myself completely apathetic to the whole event. Counting last year’s Springfest make-up, Fallfest, this spring will mark my third CUP-delivered concert in my Northeastern career. However, I have never actually attended any of these events.

Being a member of The News staff, I’ve even had free tickets for these shows, but I could never muster up enough interest to lure myself into Matthews Arena for a night of lackluster performances from artists I either stopped caring about three years ago or never cared for at all.

I don’t mean to knock CUP. We all know everyone does enough of that already. They are charged with a difficult task: negotiating a professional performer to make a pit-stop on a college campus and appeal to a majority of our very diverse students. I don’t envy them. Often dealing with publicity folks myself, I know artists’ reps are difficult to handle, and once they hear the words “college campus,” regardless of whether the newspaper or performance space is calling, they quickly hang up. Still, despite the trouble tracking down big-name acts, CUP has had some significant victories: Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube and Moby are accomplished artists, and CUP worked their tails off and got them here.

Then why are so few attracted to the yearly event? Again, it goes back to our diverse students.

In 2004, I had the distinct pleasure of attending Vassar College’s Founder’s Day, a pretty close match to our Springfest. The bill featured veteran indie-rockers Sleater-Kinney and lo-fi jangle-pop act the Unicorns. The show was packed!

I can already anticipate CUP’s response to this situation: putting together an all-indie night would only appeal to a fraction of our student body. Sure, this may be true, but what’s so bad about that?

For years, it seems CUP has attempted to get an act that would be appealing to the masses. Due to budget constraints and the sheer scope of musical tastes, what they end up with is a performer who doesn’t particularly offend anyone, but doesn’t intensely interest anyone, either. I feel there’s a certain amount of obligation as well to secure the biggest name possible for the money available. But no matter how much money CUP spends or how much widespread acceptance an artist may bolster, the concerts just never work out.

I realize everyone is always quick to hurl out suggestions to CUP about how to throw together a large-scale concert on a college campus. Few of these ideas are usually informed, or even grounded in reality. I, however, feel the solution may be easier than everyone thinks.

Why not make Springfest a two-night extravaganza? Stop trying to find artists everyone will like (though the online survey is a valiant effort), because it’s going to be impossible to find a clear majority winner. Instead, put together a night with smaller-name artists like Ted Leo, Metric, Tegan and Sara, etc. Yes, this will primarily appeal to hipsters and pretentious indie snobs, but really, those are the people who go to concerts anyway.

Then, the following night, put together a great dance night. Get some reputable local DJs to spin pop, dance, Top 40, etc. Maybe find some small hip-hop and R’B artists to fill out the bill.

I’m aware of how hard it is to put together a huge event like this, and CUP deserves our respect. I want to see Springfest succeed this year – I really do. But for that to happen, CUP needs to stop worrying about image and impressing people with big names and just get back to what the students really, truly want (not to be confused with what they just think wouldn’t suck). It’s a lesson, it seems, the university at large needs to consider.

– Bobby Hankinson is a third-year journalism major and a member of The News staff.