It’s official: J. Cole, Third Eye Blind and Big K.R.I.T. will be performing at the Mullins Center on Sunday, April 15. The Spring Concert 2012 lineup was announced through University Programming Council’s Facebook page and Twitter last night.
UPC also announced on their Facebook page that ticket information will be released at a later date. Last year’s spring concert – featuring headliners B.o.B., 3Oh!3 and Pretty Lights – was the first show not to be free. The rise in price to $10 for student tickets – a decision UPC said was made after years of deliberation in order to meet students’ needs for high-demand artists – resulted in many empty seats.
Jermaine Cole, better known by his stage name J. Cole, will be returning to Amherst as part of his “Campus Consciousness Spring 2012 / The Sideline Story” tour with special guest Big K.R.I.T. Cole – who opened for Jay-Z when he performed at the Mullins Center in October 2009 – is a rapper and producer signed to Roc Nation, rap superstar Jay-Z’s label.
His debut studio album was released in September 2011, titled “Cole World: The Sideline Story.” The certified gold album features collaborations with Missy Elliot, Drake, Trey Songz and Jay-Z. In its first week of sales, “The Sideline Story” shined at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Cole first became popular after the 2010 release of his first hit single, “Who Dat.”
Alternative rock band Third Eye Blind hit the music scene hard in 1997 after the success of their eponymous debut album. The album featured hit songs including “Jumper,” “Semi-Charmed Life” and “How’s It Going To Be,” many of which are still popular today.
Third Eye Blind has since released three more studio albums: “Blue” in 1999, “Out of the Vein” in 2003 and “Ursa Major” in 2009. The band’s most recent album appeared at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, then dropped drastically down to number 45 in its second week of sales. Members of the band include Brad Hargreaves, Stephan Jenkins, Abe Millett and Kryz Reid. Former members include Kevin Cadogan, Tony Fredianelli and Arion Salazar.
Also performing is rapper and record producer Big K.R.I.T. Born Justin Scott, K.R.I.T. has released a slew of mixtapes, but his first studio album, “Live from the Underground,” was pushed back from its original 2011 release to sometime in early 2012. K.R.I.T. has performed alongside Mac Miller, Wiz Khalifa and Method Man, and his 2011 mixtape, “Return of 4Eva,” featured musicians Chamillionaire, Ludacris and David Banner.
Since UPC’s lineup announcement last night, University of Massachusetts students have been buzzing – both on campus and online – with reactions.
“I’m pretty excited for J. Cole and Third Eye Blind,” said sophomore marine biology major James Ackley. Ackley was unsure of who Big K.R.I.T. was.
Ackley’s friend, senior psychology major Martin Millis, said of the lineup, “Personally I’m not into those genres, but I think it’s better than last year.”
Freshman Claudia Aclosta said she wasn’t disappointed in the lineup itself, but she had “heard rumors that Drake was supposed to come.”
“I listen to J. Cole but not the other two … A lot of [my friends] are really excited,” Aclosta said.
Senior music major Greg Blair said the deciding factors for whether or not he will attend the show include price of the tickets and if his friends go. Blair also saw several Facebook status updates about the lineup from excited students.
Senior Levant Erhan had not learned the lineup until interviewed by the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, saying he hadn’t heard any students discussing the concert.
“I’m not excited … I’d still go to the show even if I didn’t like them, just to check them out,” Erhan said.
The opening act for Spring Concert 2012 will be determined after the annual Battle of the Bands competition on March 28 in the Student Union Ballroom. Band submissions are due on March 2 by 5 p.m., and should be submitted to the Resource Room in room 314 of the Student Union. Bands must have at least one current UMass student member and have at least two original tracks to compete.
Spring Concert ticket information will be updated when further information is released.
Kate Evans can be reached at [email protected].
