Block Party headliner has wide appeal; opening act needs different sound
University Union announced Monday that Ben Folds will be headlining this year’s Block Party on April 26. Alternative rock group Guster will be opening the concert for Folds.
Ben Folds looks to be a good selection for this years Block Party, as his music seems to have broad appeal in the college demographic. The selection of an artist with a wide fanbase is a welcome turnaround from the niche audience of last years headliner, Fergie.
Although UU did pass up on a great opportunity with its opening act selection; Guster. The opening act for an event with campus wide appeal should try to reach out to different tastes and listeners and Guster hardly does that with its sound similar to Ben Folds.
Folds is the first headliner since 2003 who is not categorized as hip-hop, which means there will be two major concerts this academic year with rock bands, the first being Juice Jam.
UU director of concerts Kelly Bertog said that the organization was looking forward to a seeing what kind of crowd the concert would draw, but it is pretty clear that this concert will draw the same audience as Juice Jam, leaving a significant part of the campus with a different musical pallete, without a musical act.
Although Folds is a name that will resonate among a good deal of students and members of the Syracuse University community, Block Party has traditionally included a hip-hop act, which gives fans a different sound from Juice Jam. Choosing an opening act with a varied type of music would have brought in a bigger and more diverse crowd and a more popular event for UU.
It is impossible to book an act that would please the entire campus but UU should be able to secure an artist that has a large appeal. Ben Folds is on the cusp of mainstream. But Guster is on the brink of obscurity and does not live up to the openers of previous years.
It is commendable for UU to bring in such as known name as Ben Folds, but UU should make an effort to reach out to all sorts of musical tastes.
