Student Productions (SP) is preparing to present Party in the Park, featuring B.o.B with Play Boy Trey. The opening student act will be the Battle of the Bands winner 20/20 Boulevard. The concert will take place on Sunday in Plant Park at 7:00 p.m. and is free for all UT students, staff and faculty. Students can also bring one guest.
Additional tickets will be sold for $10 in Vaughn Lobby from Monday, April 25 through Friday, April 29.There will be free food and giveaways at the event. There is no re-entry into the concert for those who decide to leave.
Kristen Mathe, SP’s music chair, recently spoke to The Minaret about the upcoming concert.
The Minaret (M): Why and how did Student Productions choose B.o.B to perform?
Kristen Mathe (KM): At the beginning of the school year, the concert board, who is in charge of planning Party in the Park, put together a survey that went out on Blackboard. It asked questions to see what the student body was interested in seeing at the concert.
Based on the results of the genre of music, along with the most popular artists, we decided to go ahead and present an offer to B.o.B.’s agent.
M: Are you expecting a large crowd?
KM: We are expecting a pretty decent-sized crowd. Since it is free to UT students, we hope to have a good majority of the student body there.
M: Who are the food sponsors for the event?
KM: The food sponsors we have are Pita Pit, Fresh and Chipotle.
M: Will free stuff be given to those who attend?
KM: The first 500 students into the park will receive free giveaways. The sponsors are also giving away free food until they run out of it.
M: When is a good time for students to show up to the park?
KM: The gates open at 7 p.m.; so, if students want to receive free giveaways or food, they should arrive early. 20/20 Boulevard will begin their performance at 7:30.
M: Where will the stage be?
KM: The stage will be set up by the Sticks of Fire, facing the river. The audience will be facing toward Plant Hall.
M: Will the show be postponed in the event of inclement weather?
KM: We will make a weather-based call on Friday morning as to whether the concert will be held in Plant Park or in our rain location, Martinez. The call will be made by John Stepro, Director of Media Services.
The reason we have to make the call on Friday is because we need the time to arrange for a different stage and generators. Right now, we have all the stage and equipment ordered for an outdoor concert. If we have to move the concert inside, we need different equipment than what we are prepared for. Since we want to avoid what happened last year [a last-minute cancellation due to heavy rain], with even the slightest chance of rain, we may have to make the call to move the concert to our rain location.
By making the call on Friday, we will be able to arrange for everything that we need for a different venue.
M: How long will the concert last?
KM: The concert should last until 10:30 or 11:00 p.m.
In addition to the interview, students were asked their views on the upcoming concert.
Mikhail Mattis, a senior majoring in financial services operations and systems, said, “Seeing that this would be my last concert at the University of Tampa, I’m pretty excited.”
Jose Reyes, a junior majoring in film and media arts, said, “Yes, I’m going. I feel like it’s one of the biggest events the school has, where everyone comes together and there’s a lot of free food and stuff; so, why not go?”
Alyssa Peleck (not sure of last name spelling), a freshman, majoring in nursing, said, “Because I haven’t been to a concert since last summer and I kind of want to start going again, I’m kind of excited. I don’t know how he’ll do. He’s always with another performer, so I don’t know how he is by himself, but I heard he’s pretty good.”
Lauren LeComte, a senior majoring in psychology, said, “I’m gonna go to the concert on Sunday because I’m excited to see B.o.B. I like his music. I like him a lot. It should be good.”
Linda, a freshman majoring in accounting, said, “I’m going because it’s my first real big event at the University of Tampa and he’s somebody I’ve actually heard of. It’s something fun to do before finals start.”
Audrey Lopez, a senior majoring in criminology, said, “I’m going to the B.o.B concert because it’s an artist I actually know unlike last year when it was someone I had no clue and I’ve been to the concert every year since I’ve been at the University of Tampa and I might as well go. It’ll be my last one.”
Brittney Williams, a sophomore majoring in international and cultural studies and Spanish, said, “I need a break from studying for finals and B.o.B is a decent artist. It’ll be a good opportunity to hang out with friends before the crazy exam week starts.”
On Facebook, about 755 University of Tampa students have said that they are going to attend the concert. That’s just students, so, by the time of the concert, that amount will be much higher.The best thing to do is to get to the concert early.
For more information about the event, you can reach Kristen Mathe by e-mail at kmathe@spartans.ut.edu.
Yasaman Sherbaf can be reached at ysherbaf@spartans.ut.edu.
@mr me: “The concert will take place on Sunday in Plant Park at 7:00 p.m.”
So what date is this?