T-Pain concert shows up Block Party second year in a row
The choice of T-Pain as the headliner for this year’s Greek Unity Fest trumps University Union’s choices for Block Party for the second year in a row by bringing a relevant, mainstream artist to campus.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council managed to get a hip-hop act, which there appears to be a lot of demand for on campus (the Nas concert sold out last spring) and will more than likely sell out quickly.
Last year Nas performed in Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center while Fergie and Sean Kingston played at Block Party. While Fergie certainly had hits on the radio, she lacked the campus-wide appeal that Block Party should have.
University Union has better funding and the better ability to put on a good show for students, particularly with Block Party, which should be one of the biggest events to close out the academic year. While Ben Folds and Guster are popular, they aren’t as mainstream and don’t really draw as big of an audience as T-Pain probably will.
T-Pain just won a Grammy for ‘Good Life’ with Kanye West and makes a cameo appearance in the latest YouTube sensation ‘I’m On A Boat.’ His name is pretty much recognizable, while Ben Folds and Guster were more familiar names a few years ago.
One would think UU would be more in touch with the student body and know what kind of acts would get students interested and excited. While the variety is nice, mainstream acts are what’s going to draw students, and UU should take advantage.
