Sage the Gemini and the Chainsmokers coming to WFU//Karlee Spirit
Come April 8th, the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum will no longer resonate with the pounding of a basketball, screeching of sneakers and the cheering of fans. Instead, it will be filled with students, alumni, and interested administrators and faculty listening to the hammering of keys and mixing of beats.
Wake Forest University Headliner’s Committee of Student Union has introduced their 2016 Spring Concert with performances by Sage the Gemini and the highly anticipated American DJ duo the Chainsmokers.
Kate Hubbs, the Headliners Chair for Student Union, is the leader of the Headliners Committee and manages the Headliners budget in order to book one or more concerts for the academic year.
“I have to be aware of upcoming artists that have the potential to put on a good show, as well as be aware of what the student body wants as a concert,” Hubbs said. “I use the information I get from my spring concert survey in order to bring an act that will be most popular with the student body.”
The Student Union works closely with Babco Entertainment, a booking agency stationed in Virginia, when looking for music acts to bring to campus.
Babco Entertainment agents provide the Headliners Chair with a list of all the artists that are available for booking in the spring along with their typical price range for a performance.
Using this information, Hubbs and her committee go through the list of potential artists and narrow it down to about 30 artists within the Student Union’s budget. These 30 artists are the ones that get put on the survey that is sent out to the student body in order to see who the Wake Forest community is most interested in.
The Chainsmokers’ awaited performance has already sold about 1,000 tickets within the first two weeks of ticket sales, and has yet to be opened up to other schools or the general public.
Sarah King, the Vice President of Communications on the Executive Board for Student Union, manages social media platforms, weekly newsletters and creates graphics. She ensures that all of the Student Union events, especially the spring concert, are effectively marketed to the students. She has the important role of making sure everything is organized, planned and advertised to the community.
“When planning an event, I must consider venue, ticket prices, security, hospitality needs, marketing plans, etc., while all of this must be approved by the artist’s agency,” King says. “Once everything is approved, I can start to tell people and promote, promote, promote!”
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McKenzie Ziegler, a senior and member of Student Government, says she can’t wait to attend the concert.
“I enjoy electronic music and the Chainsmokers have a good number of well-known songs,” Ziegler states. “I would like to attend simply because I’m a senior and it could be my last hurrah.”
Doors for the spring concert open at 7:00pm and the performances begin at 8:00pm. While all seating is general admission, tickets are priced at $20 for students, $25 for faculty, staff, alumni, other university students, and $35 to the general public.
To purchase tickets to see Sage the Gemini and the Chainsmokers, click here.
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