OutKast rapper Big Boi will headline Brown's fall concert, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 18, on Lincoln Field, according to a Brown Concert Agency press release. The concert will also feature Stegosaurus — the stage identity of DJ James Hinton '10, a former BCA bookings chair.
The agency "really wanted to expand the fall show this year," said Booking Chair Abigail Schreiber '11. She predicted that Big Boi, also known as Antwan Andre Patton, will "appeal to a wide variety of Brown students" and make the concert "more inclusive."
With his first solo album, "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty," named Billboard's release of the week in July, Big Boi has been far from an OutKast. The hip-hop artist, songwriter, producer and actor is "on most people's radars," Schreiber said, adding that several popular magazines praised the album. "Since when does the New Yorker write about hip hop?"
Stegosaurus composes "a lot of creative mixes and mash-ups that we thought would really enhance the Big Boi show," Schreiber said. Hinton, who has released two albums, performed as a DJ in Providence and various cities while he was at Brown studying music and physics, according to Administrative Chair Serin Seckin '11.
When scouting out options for the fall lineup, "we considered Beach House, which ultimately fell through because they had a family commitment," Seckin said. "But hopefully this will be great too."
With Big Boi's performance "a lot cheaper than we had expected" and an alum as the supporting act, BCA has saved money on the concert, Seckin said. The agency plans to use the surplus to hold more small concerts throughout the year.
The 2010 concert takes place earlier than most fall concerts in hopes of warm weather and catching students before the pace of the semester picks up, Schreiber said. The outdoor location is a break from recent years, when Alumnae Hall, this year's rain location, housed the fall concert.
"We're really excited to have fall concert outside," Seckin said.
Concert agency members spent time "reevaluating our shows over the past few years and realizing how much students enjoy Spring Weekend," Schreiber said. Perceiving that outdoor concerts were part of its appeal, they chose to replicate that ambiance this September, she explained. "It will be a mini-Spring Weekend."
The day of the concert, doors will open at 6:15 p.m., and the main act will appear after sundown to accommodate students observing Yom Kippur.
"We are aware that it's Yom Kippur and we have made sure that the headliner goes on after sunset," Schreiber said.
BCA is still "figuring out the specifics" of the ticket sales process, she said, adding that more information will be become available on the group's website, www.brownconcertagency.org.
