After several years of leaning toward rap artists, the minority-interest social-planning group at Penn has picked something more soulful to headline its annual concert.
Soul duo Floetry will be the main event at the Social Planning and Events Committee to Represent Undergraduate Minorities annual spring concert at the Theater of the Living Arts in downtown Philadelphia.
The rapper Common headlined last year's show at the Electric Factory in Center City. Kanye West played the year before.
"We wanted to get away a little bit from the hip-hop genre and move more towards soul," SPEC-TRUM co-Director and College junior Ahmed Whitt said.
A female duo from Philadelphia, Floetry is the first female headliner for SPEC-TRUM's spring concert in several years.
"We are really excited about [Floetry]. They have a new album, lots of good reviews, and they are going to be touring this summer, so we're really confident they are going to put on a good show," Whitt said.
Floetry's newest album, Flo'ology, debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard record-sales charts. The group had garnered six Grammy nominations.
Whitt said his group considered information from a survey SPEC conducted last fall to gauge student musical interests in looking for an act.
Goapele, a California-based singer, and D. Goode, a local singer-songwriter, will open the show.
"Goapele was an easy choice because she often plays with Floetry, but with D. Goode we were looking for local artists," Whitt said.
According to Whitt, transportation was the main reason for the relocation of the event from the Electric Factory to the Theater of Living Arts.
"The Electric Factory is not really accessible by public transportation, so having it at the Theater of Living Arts is much easier," Whitt said.
The Electric Factory seats 2,500, while the TLA can hold up to 1,000 concertgoers.
Whitt added that SPEC-TRUM will be sponsoring a free bus service for students to and from the venue starting at 7 p.m. on April 21. The service will continue until 11:30 p.m.
In addition to the annual spring concert, SPEC-TRUM has also put on several other shows this year. The group recently co-sponsored comedian Margaret Cho's performance on campus, and in the fall it held a show featuring comedy duo Katt Williams and Eliot Chang.
Engineering freshman Aaron Jungstein said that although he had never heard of the acts featured in the concert, he is still considering attending the show.
"I would definitely go to a concert like this. It seems really interesting," Jungstein said.
He added that the show would probably draw more students if it were on campus rather than downtown.
Bioengineering junior Anne Bensoussan said she would not be willing to attend, but not because of the concert's location.
"I don't think I would go because I am not very familiar with the groups," Bensoussan said, adding however that she frequently sees other shows at local venues like the Annenberg Center.
Tickets for the show will be available starting Thursday on Locust Walk for $10, and reserve tickets can be purchased by e-mailing spectrumpresents@gmail.com.
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