After weeks of hinting and guessing, the Ivies spring concert lineup is here. Ivies 2011 will feature Janelle Monáe, Mac Miller and Local Natives.
"Janelle Monáe was high on our list," said Entertainment Board Co-Chair David Gruber. "She got rave reviews on the comments portion of [the Ivies] survey."
After sending out its band survey to the student body in December, which included both small and big acts, the E-Board decided to look more closely at larger acts. After pursuing several big names, they came to Monáe.
"We essentially moved down the list of big acts and she seemed like the obvious choice," Gruber said. "We're so excited to have her."
"She performed at this year's Grammy Awards," he added. "A lot of influential people are saying that she should have been recognized more than she was."
Gruber described Monáe's sound as "electronic pop" and noted that her show should be similar to that of Santigold, who performed for Ivies in 2009.
"She is supposed be totally incredible and is supposed to have a great live show," Gruber said. "There will be a lot of dancing, stage activity and the chance for a video component."
The total price of the show is roughly what it was last year, according to Gruber.
Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa had been coupled in a package deal for a long time but recently decided to separate.
"A lot of people were really excited about Wiz Khalifa, but he was out of our price range," said Gruber. "Mac Miller is similar artist, and far less expensive."
Gruber noted that Miller has a new album coming out around the time of the Ivies concert.
"[Miller] is getting a lot of press now for being one of the best up-and-coming artists this year," he said.
Local Natives is a more indie band, according to Gruber.
"They are supposed to have a great live show," he said.
Gruber said that Local Natives is a "totally different type of music that we didn't have on the set."
"The three together seem to make a lot of sense, and appeal to a lot of different demographics," he added.
The E-Board received the three contracts only about a week ago, and concert logistics are still being figured out.
"In all likelihood, we'll be on [Whittier Field] again, instead of the quad. It worked better in terms of security and logistics," said Gruber. Ultimately, however, the concert location will be an administrative decision.
The order of the acts will depend on "music business regulations, and [whether] one artist will prefer to perform before or after," said Gruber. Technological demands will also be taken into account.
The exact timing of the concert, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 30, is also yet to be determined.
"We're toying with the idea of changing the concert into the night, into the dark, which happened last year—but that also raises a lot of problems," said Gruber.
Over the past week, the E-Board had been dropping hints on its recently-created Facebook and Twitter pages regarding which acts would be coming to Ivies this year. For instance, the E-Board posted that "One artist is the same age as many Bowdoin students" in reference to Mac Miller, who just turned 19 last month.
According to Gruber, the impetus behind the Facebook and Twitter band hints was to generate fans. While Gruber felt that the campus is generally aware of E-Board events, he noted that the E-Board hopes raise awareness of its smaller concerts, such Saturday night's concert featuring White Panda.
"If we have a lot of fans on Facebook, hopefully a lot of people will know about our events," he said.