USF Spends $138 Thousand for Fall Fest: Jay Sean and New Boyz headline much anticipated concert

Four music artists put on a notable show at the Fall Fest Concert last Saturday, Oct. 23. Behind the scenes, the Campus Activities Board (CAB) was running a different kind of show—making the event come together after months of planning.

According to the proposed bud- get for FY 2010-11, CAB set aside $60,000 to headline Jay Sean and the New Boyz, and reserved $5,000 for opening acts The Cataracs and Rockit Scientists.

The entire concert was estimated at $138 thousand, which covered costs for publicity, catering (for con- cert artists), security, equipment rent- als and the facility rental. ASUSF Senate approved the budget alloca- tions based on the funds received from activity fees.

Patrick Sudlow, the concert director for CAB, said that he proposed concert artists to USF’s middle agent, Event Resources Presents, Inc., in April while studying abroad in Argentina. Event Resources Presents, Inc. is an arts management consultant firm.

Sudlow worked with Jolene Chavalier, who handles the firm’s college buying. “We go back and forth until we find an artist that fits our budget, the genre that students voted for, and the social justice climate we have on campus,” Sudlow said. Chevalier has worked on the last three concerts with CAB.

CAB recruited about 35 volunteers to help with the concert. Volunteers received benefits, such as free admission and meeting the concert artists.

Ten of the volunteers were part of the hospitality team, and were responsible for decorating the per- formers’ hospitality rooms (a room that accommodates the artists with their needs).

CAB worked with the artists’ riders to verify any specific requests. “The rider basically has all the demands from the artists,” Sudlow said, “They are very generic on some things, some are very specific. We like when they’re specific because then we don’t have to buy a bunch of things. When they say gum and mints, then we have to buy a lot of gum and mints because then we don’t know what kind they like.”

Kelsey Jones was the head volunteer on the hospitality team. Among Jay Sean’s requests were an ironing board and hangers, as well as an iPod dock. Aside from this, though, “it’s mostly food,” Jones said.

The hospitality team spent about 16 hours decorating the three rooms from Friday evening to Saturday af- ternoon (with a break in-between). The end resulted in a transformation of the Bill Russell Room and

Memorial Gym locker rooms into a back- stage area with couches covered in black linen, tables set up with drinks and food platters, and gifts from the USF bookstore.

Jay Sean had the Bill Russell Room; the locker rooms went to the New Boyz and the opening acts.

Rick Gorbette, owner of Event Resources Presents, Inc., has seen many hospitality rooms from colleges that have hosted concerts. He rated CAB’s hospitality rooms at “top 5.”“Anything that the campus can do to be a good host,to be as cozy and welcoming [as possible], is what the dressing room and the catering is all about,” he said. From the artist’s perspective, “even if the sound is crappy or the turnout isn’t very good, your performers are going to put on a great show because they were treated right from the time they walked in through that door.”

General volunteer and sophomore Domonique Crosby said, “They’ve [the hospitality committee] done really good. I’ve seen the hospitality group running with their heads cut off to get this pulled off for us.”

Crosby said she applied to be a volunteer to experience the work that goes into the Fall Fest Concert. “I don’t feel like we’re rushing to do anything, which I think is really good. It shows the planning that went into it,” she said.

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