Brown Concert Agency’s annual Fall Concert has been canceled as part of an effort to devote more funds to this year’s Spring Weekend, said BCA Communications Chair Will Peterson ’14.
BCA and the Undergraduate Finance Board agreed upon the change, Peterson said.
Because this academic year marks the University’s 250th anniversary, Peterson said BCA hopes to “make an even bigger and better event out of Spring Weekend this year.” Cancelling Fall Concert is essentially a means of “reallocating funds” to the April celebration, he said.
The cancellation will likely be a one-time case and BCA plans to hold Fall Concert next year, Peterson said.
Last year BCA spent $30,000 on the Fall Concert and $180,000 on Spring Weekend, Peterson said. This year BCA has a larger budget, and the majority of its extra funding will also be spent on Spring Weekend, Peterson said.
Despite these financial considerations, Peterson said BCA still plans to host Speakeasy concerts. According the official BCA blog, these “smaller, more intimate” events typically occur four times a year and feature musical talent from Brown, RISD and the Providence area.
“It is a bit of a bummer to cancel the Fall Concert because it’s always so much fun,” Peterson said. “We love it because it gives an opportunity to bring in smaller acts that might not fit in with the general vibe of Spring Weekend.”
Arun Janssens ’15 said he has never attended the Fall Concert.
“I was actually planning on getting hyped up for it for once, so I’m mildly disappointed that it’s canceled,” Janssens said. He added that because of the increased funding for Spring Weekend, he has “high expectations for the lineup” and is “looking forward to see(ing) what BCA is going to do with the extra cash.”
Taylor Moss ’16 echoed this sentiment.
“The cancellation is unfortunate — but it’s Brown’s 250th anniversary, which obviously doesn’t occur very often, so that makes it worth it,” he said. He added that while he has “faith that those in charge of the decision knew what they were doing, we won’t be sure what the right decision is until we can see more specific plans.”
ADVERTISEMENT
