This Saturday, Notre Dame students will get a blast from the past when, for the third time, Third Eye Blind headlines the Student Union Board's spring concert.
SUB concert programmers Lauren Keating and Meagan Guerin, both seniors, spoke enthusiastically about the decision to host Third Eye Blind for a third time.
"When we began the programming process, we went in with a completely open mind. We know the Notre Dame student body has such a diverse musical taste," Keating said. "Third Eye Blind have stayed popular for so long that it shows they are a great band and will generate a lot of interest."
Keating and Guerin both acknowledged the difficulty of choosing an artist that would appeal to the entire student body, especially in the wake of last year's sold out concert featuring Chiddy Bang and O.A.R.
"We started by asking ourselves who we believed would appeal to most of the Notre Dame student body," Keating said. "Ultimately, we decided that we wanted to entice the overall group enough that they will go to the show and end up having a great time rather than pleasing a small group a lot."
Hoodie Allen, an independent rapper from New York, will open the concert before Third Eye Blind takes the stage. By pairing an up-and-coming opener with a more established headliner, Keating and Guerin believe this year's concert will match the success of last year's.
"I think we did a good job of keeping the concert on par with last year's," Keating said. "Last year's was perfect because it paired two very different bands and appealed to two different groups. I think we have the same thing going this year. Third Eye Blind is so popular, but we also have Hoodie Allen, a pretty prominent up and coming hip hop artist."
Allen, a one time Google employee, left his career at the Internet powerhouse to pursue a music career after generating significant interest during his side gigs, Keating said.
"He is someone various people mentioned that they would love to see as an opener," Guerin said. "I wasn't too familiar with him, but he is already generating excitement."
Based on students' reactions thus far, Keating and Guerin expect the concert to sell out.
"We had a lot of requests for Third Eye Blind," Guerin said. "We did casual polling and asked students to name five bands they would like to see come to campus. They were included on a lot of people's list."
Even though nineties hits "Jumper" and "Semi-Charmed Life" remain the band's most popular songs, Keating believes the band's energy will capture the audience.
"They do play their hits, but you don't have to know every song to enjoy their concerts," Keating said. "They play all their instruments and sing live, and the lead singer walks around the stage the entire time and really engages with the audience."
Guerin said Third Eye Blind has a reputation for engaging concerts.
"They are known for putting on really good, fun shows," Guerin said. "I've heard nothing but good things about their concerts from friends who have attended their shows before."
Tickets go on sale today at 7 a.m. in the LaFortune box office for all Notre Dame undergraduates. At 9 a.m. Thursday, St. Mary's, Holy Cross and Notre Dame graduate students cawn purchase tickets. When purchasing tickets, each student can bring up to three ID cards and buy one ticket per ID. The doors to Stepan open at 7:30 p.m. Saturday with the concert beginning at 8 p.m.
Contact Aubrey Butts at abutts@nd.edu
