By Eric Allen, News Staff
After weeks of speculation from students, the acts for Springfest’s big finale have been confirmed:’ Co-headlining at the The Council for University Programs’ (CUP) concert Saturday, April 4 at Matthews Arena will be rock acts Guster and Jimmy Eat World, along with DJ Diplo.
Tickets for the show, which cost $5 plus a $1 processing fee from the ticketing service, will go on sale March 19 on the myTickets tab on students’ myNEU portal. The show is set to begin at 7 p.m.; doors will open at 6 p.m. The night will start with DJ Diplo, who will also play music between the bands’ sets. Guster will go on before Jimmy Eat World. For more information, like ticket sale times, visit www.cup.neu.com closer to the concert date.
‘I’m insanely excited,’ said Springfest Concert Chair Nani Stoick. ‘[The performers] were our first choices.’
Stoick said the bands were chosen by the Springfest committee by pooling ideas for bands, picking out which of those acts would be available and then voting on the possible acts.
Responding to rumors about a performance by singer Katy Perry, Stoick said the committee did consider her.
‘She wasn’t available,’ she said. ‘That wasn’t really a rock show. We were looking to specifically do a rock show since it’s been rap for the past two years.’
Stoick said the rumors most likely began when she brought the possibility of Katy Perry’s performance to the Budget Review Committee.
In past years, the Springfest concert has been about five hours. Stoick said this year the show is planned to be about three and a half hours. The total amount of tickets available hasn’t yet been determined ‘- the capacity of Matthews will depend on whether or not the ice for Northeastern’s hockey team is still in the arena. Matthews can hold about 4,500 people, but the ticket sales will decrease by 400 if the ice is still intact, Stoick said.
She said the ticket service has been revamped for this show.
‘We won’t have another Jon Stewart situation,’ she said, referring to the difficulty students had buying tickets for Stewart’s stand-up routine Oct. 17. ‘They’ve upgraded the system with new software.’
DJ Diplo will perform his own 30-minute sets before and after Guster’s performance, Stoick said. Diplo, from Philadelphia, was the DJ for M.I.A.’s 2005 tour, and has worked with artists like Santigold and Spank Rock. Boston-based Guster, formed by a group of friends from Tufts University, gained popularity in the ’90s with songs like ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Fa Fa.’
Their latest album was released in 2006, and they are tentatively releasing their sixth studio album in April. Arizona-based Jimmy Eat World gained commercial popularity in 2001 with their song ‘The Middle.’ Their latest studio album, Chase This Light, was released in 2007.
‘About Guster ‘- they’re a legendary Boston band that almost every college knows about,’ Stoick said. ‘Jimmy Eat World is one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen. Their show is absolutely amazing.’
