After weeks of anticipation, the Spring Fling Committee announced Wednesday that the headliners for the May 4 concert will be Blessid Union of Souls and Sponge. The Saturday concert, the marquee event of the annual celebration, will open with the winners of previous day’s “Battle of the Bands” competition and the regionally popular, Vermont-based group, Contraption.
“I think it’s one of the better line-ups that we’ve had in recent years,” said Junior Kevin Desmond, a PACE representative on the Spring Fling Committee. “I think it’s a decent mix and they’re popular bands, each with their own unique sound.”
Possessing a self-described “Rural Soul” music style, Blessid Union of Souls is one of the most well known bands to perform at PSC. The authors of such radio hits as “I Believe,” “Let Me be the One,” “I Wanna be There,” and “Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me),” they have yet to translate that acclaim into the 21st century.
Sponge, a Detroit-based alternative group, achieved critical and commercial success with their near-platinum 1995 album, Rotting Piñata. Best known for their mid-90’s anthems “Plowed” and “Molly (Sixteen Candles),” they are attempting a return to celebrity after the listening public largely ignored their following records, Wax Ecstatic and New Pop Sunday.
Notably absent from this year’s lineup is a representative from the Hip-Hop/Rap genre that dominated last year’s main stage concert. Desmond said, “I do wish that we did have more of a selection [of musical styles]. We were looking at getting Mr. Lif, he’s a hip-hop artist. True, we don’t have a hip-hop or ska, but it’s not like we’re going to be listening to the same band three times in a row.” But the question remains: how will the student body react? On learning the identity of the main bands, Junior marketing major Margaret Heslin said, “I’m kind of disappointed. UNH gets Jurassic 5. Keene gets moe. And we get Sponge and Blessid Union of Soul? I mean, when was the last time that they had a hit?”
Heslin’s disappointment is not unique. Senior Rick Alpers, the co-chair of the Spring Fling committee said, “I’m afraid [the committee had to settle]. We all had expectations early on of who we wanted to get… we want to get the big name bands like Creed or Nickelback, but when they suddenly jump the prices to thirty-five thousand [dollars] or more, it puts them out of our reach.
“Spring Fling is funded by student money only…Spring Fling is for the students but the town, school and community all benefit. Maybe it’s time for town and the school to get together a little bit of money to help this program grow.”
The Spring Fling concert begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Rugby Field behind the Facilities Services Building. For the complete Spring Fling schedule, a website has been established at http://oz.plymouth.edu/~pace. For more information and updates on this story check http://TheClockOnline.com or anywhere on campus type “clock” into your browser window.