By Magdalene Michalik (Assistant News Editor)
The intramural field will be transformed into an outdoor festival with carnival rides this Saturday, May 4.
This will be the site of Hofstra’s Music Fest 2013 organized by Entertainment Unlimited and Hofstra Concerts. The event will start at 12:30 pm and will be exclusive to Hofstra students who will be able to enter for free with a valid Hofstra ID.
Third Eye Blind is the headlining act for the concert for this year. The lineup will also include Joey Bada$$, twentyonepilots, Erin Willett, Persona and Battle for Music Fest’s winner TuNe$.
The lineup was not allowed to officially be announced until Saturday due to contractual reasons with the artists. However, the Music Fest Facebook page released teaser photos and hints as to who will be performing.
The Facebook page was made as a source for students to get information about the event. The Music Fest social media team that included representatives from both Entertainment Unlimited and Hofstra Concerts established the page. The page was modeled after the national music festivals Coachella and Lollapalooza.
“We wanted the event to be more official and make it a personality that people can interact with,” said Alex Rexha, president of Entertainment unlimited and junior mathematical economics and Asian studies major. “This year, it’s all about social media.”
This large social media presence was a way for the organizers to reach out to students to gain feedback and reactions. The social media team focused on keeping people’s attention and to keep them excited for the event.
“When we started making the page, we didn’t think we would be able to draw attention and hold it for 5 weeks but we ended up with over six hundred followers before we even posted the headliner,” said Meredith Nadeau, Advertising Chair for Hofstra Concerts and junior marketing major.
In addition to being a fun student festival, Music Fest is a charity event partnered with the Keep A Breast Foundation.
“We’re raising money for the cause while offering a concert and carnival for the students,” said Rexha.
All proceeds raised will be donated to the Keep A Breast Foundation to promote cancer education and awareness. There will be raffles including signed posters by the artists and carnival games sponsored by Entertainment Unlimited.
Planning for Music Fest is a yearlong process. Initial coordinating started in the beginning of last summer. The acts are chosen early this spring semester.
A massive list of the most popular artists the clubs want to inquire about are made. Then, booking agents for the artists are contacted and were considered if they were within the price range and available.
Public Safety will be taking additional safety measures during this event to accommodate the expected turnout.
“Extra precautions will be taken,” said John O’Malley, Associate Director of Operations of Public Safety. “Public Safety will maintain crowd control and be a large presence this Saturday.”
This presence will include an increase in uniformed officers. In addition, there will be student managers in blue shirts to maintain control. Public Safety officers will also be checking Hofstra identification before students enter the area.
“We tried and will continue to try to meet the needs of the people,” said Nadeau. “We have taken into account the fact that people don’t want a rap or hip-hop headliner and we took that into consideration this year. Country is also becoming popular so that is something we might be using in the future.”
