Spring Fling likely to have two acts this year

Spring Fling will likely feature two acts instead of three in April.

The Social Planning and Events Committee is utilizing a student survey to gauge Penn students’ preferences for Fling performers, and responses so far overwhelmingly support a two-act show with one opener and one headliner, as opposed to the three-act show last year. Because SPEC has a $180,000 budget for talent in the spring, two acts will allow for greater expenditure on each artist.

SPEC’s survey also asks students to suggest artists as potential Fling performers and genres. Currently, the top contending genres include electronic, pop and hip-hop .

1500 students, or about 15 percent of the student body, have currently responded to the survey. SPEC is waiting for more responses to make a final decision and will continue to check the form and contact additional artists, so the top genres could change.

“We wanted to remain true to the purpose [of SPEC] and brings artists that the Penn community wants to see,” College senior and SPEC Concerts Co-Director Suvadip Choudhury said.

Choudhury added that SPEC originally had an inclination that the students would not want an electronic artist because the past three Fling artists have all been electronic artists. However, he said that electronic music has received “a decent percentage of the votes” so far.

Choudhury could not reveal the identities of the leading artists because SPEC is in the process of contacting many of them. One may end up as the Fling opening act or headliner in April.

While SPEC still won’t be able to get Beyonce, Choudhury said that some students still listed such out-of-budget artists as Queen Bey, Taylor Swift and Kanye West. However, enough students listed artists that are within budget and SPEC has started contacting booking agencies for some artists.

Aside from budgetary considerations, SPEC must consider logistics. When deciding on a headliner, SPEC must see if the artist is even booking shows or if the artist can easily come to Philadelphia.

The lineup for the Fling concert will likely be announced in early March.

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