The Student Union Board (SUB) announced Monday O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) and Chiddy Bang will perform at the highly anticipated April 8 spring concert.
"Our main goal for this year was to find a nationally famous headliner who would appeal to the most number of students at Notre Dame," SUB concert programmer James Hesburgh said. "We also wanted an artist who would give a great live performance. Just because an artist is in the top-10 of iTunes doesn't mean they are good live performers."
Recognized as one of the country's best live bands, O.A.R. began in a basement in Rockville, Md., in 1996 and exploded as a popular band on college campuses. The hip-hop duo, made-up of emcee Chiddy and DJ and producer Xaphoon Jones, will open for the band. The group recently received attention on MTV and in performer Kanye West's blog.
SUB will sell 1,000 tickets for the concert Friday in the LaFortune Box Office beginning at 12 p.m., Hesburgh said. One hundred extra tickets will be sold at 5 p.m. on the day of the concert at Stepan. Tickets will cost $15.
"We are presenting these two artists together because they are two excellent live performers from two different genres of music," he said. "With this combination of talent we expect a huge turnout on Friday at the LaFun Box Office."
SUB concert programmer Matt Stolze said the two bands were highly popular among students.
"I think the attraction for O.A.R. is pretty clear," he said. "They're known as a fantastic live act, and it's a band a lot of people around campus love. As for Chiddy Bang, they're a more up-and-coming act that has generated a lot of buzz, especially in the college scene."
The board manager received numerous emails leading up to the decision to request Chiddy Bang in particular, Stolze said.
"Securing artists such as O.A.R. and Chiddy Bang takes months of planning that includes researching artists, countless phones calls to agents and budgeting," Hesburgh said. "The search for the next year's big concert typically begins during the summer so there is an enormous amount of time and effort that goes into the planning process."
Chiddy Bang will begin its performance at 8 p.m., and the headliner O.A.R. is expected to begin at 9 p.m., Hesburgh said.
In the past, SUB hosted performers like Mike Posner and The Roots during its large spring concert. The board brought mix artist The White Panda to campus in November for its fall concert after it canceled a performance by rapper Sam Adams.
Students are required to present their student IDs to purchase a ticket. Each student may purchase up to three tickets but must bring three different student IDs to make the purchase. The Friday sale will be open only to Notre Dame undergraduates until 2 p.m., and then students from Saint Mary's and Holy Cross will be able to purchase tickets as well.
Stolze said SUB predicts the concert to have a large student response.
"In all honesty, I would be very surprised if this show did not sell out," he said.
