Ska punk band Reel Big Fish will kick off Ivies on Thursday, April 23, with experimental electronic act The White Panda opening on Saturday and rapper Logic playing later that afternoon.

Student reactions were mixed, with most of the excitement geared toward Reel Big Fish and White Panda, some students were not familiar with any of the acts.

“I don’t know any of the bands that are coming—that might just be me living under a rock,” said Selena Lorrey ’16.

“Honestly, I’ve never heard of any of them… From my understanding the music is not the most important part of Ivies,” said Mac Brower ’16.

According to Director of Student Activities Nate Hintze, the Entertainment Board (eBoard) decided to change the typical Ivies model, which usually features Racer X on Thursday night and two bands on Saturday. The eBoard declined to comment for this story.

“They try to get all the different genres that students like—it seemed like a good thing to try to put the indie-rock act on Thursday night and have the DJ and rapper on Saturday, just to try things a little bit different,” said Hintze. 

Hintze expects that there will be between 1,800 and 2,500 students attending Ivies with an additional 500 for the performances on Saturday.

“I’m excited about Reel Big Fish, but I’m guessing I’m in the minority,” said Katie Coleman ’16. “I’m exited to have something different from the past two years—I’m consistently surprised by the choices [the eBoard makes].”

Hintze declined to specify the eBoard’s operating budget or how much any act is getting paid some contracts stipulate that the College cannot say how much the performers charge, he said, adding that the College finalized the contracts two weeks before Spring Break.

None of the performers could be reached by the time of publication.

Notably absent from this year’s performers is Racer X—the professor comprised 80s cover band that has performed at most Ivies in recent years.

“I’m pretty excited [for Ivies performances], pretty sad Racer X isn’t performing because it’s my senior year, but I’ll survive,” said Kristen Nocka ’15.