MSU’s Spring Concert took place at the Breslin Student Events Center April 2. Hosted by the Residence Halls Association (RHA), Impact 89FM, University Activities Board (UAB) and Associated Students of MSU (ASMSU), it required an immense amount of coordination and planning, done primarily by students of these four organizations.
“The spring concert is a great collaboration between campus organizations,” Impact 89FM Program Manager Jeremy Whiting says. “Students plan the entire event and advisers from each organization help support that work.”
Campus Partnerships
Coordinating event planning and meetings between four different campus organizations is no easy task, especially for an event as large in scale as the spring concert. According to RHA President Lauren Pelon, planning for the concert begins just after the previous concert is finished. The team assesses what went well and what can be improved from the previous concert.
“We always have a great time as student leaders coming together to create such an impactful event for many students to attend,” Pelon says.
Coordination with the Breslin Center team is also necessary for concert planning. Pelon says in the lead up to the event, planners walk through the venue to get a lay of the land and see how the concert will play out on gameday.
“Each organization brings its particular expertise and areas of strength,” says Whiting. “Together, the student group works on artist selection and contract negotiation, venue logistics, marketing, ticketing, and everything else that goes into producing a successful show.”
This year, the team collaborated to bring together a full lineup of entertainment, including headliner, Briston Maroney, and opening acts FinalBossFight! and Flyana Boss. For the students planning the concert, this serves as an incredible learning opportunity for their potential future roles in event and concert planning and execution.
On episode 13 of season 17 of Impact 89FM’s podcast “Exposure,” host Emelia Duffield spoke with Pelon, Impact Program Director Maggie Heflin, Impact Marketing Director Jovana Nagj and RHA Chief Publicity Officer Mikia Lawrence about the concert as well as the planning behind it.
“RHA’s mission is that students come first,” Lawrence explained. “We represent our students, not the other way around. So, everything that we do is to put the best product of events, opportunities and experiences out for them. That’s something from a marketing perspective that we keep in mind.”
New this year, the event featured a partnership with the MSU Dairy Store for a spring-concert-themed ice cream: Briston’s Blueberry Jam Session.
“This past year, we had the opportunity to expand our collaboration partnering with the Dairy Store,” Pelon says. “This was a very innovative marketing tactic that I was happy to see happen. And the ice cream was super delicious!”
Building Connections
Every year, the concert brings together students and people from all walks of life to the Breslin Center to enjoy live music. The spring concert serves as a milestone in students’ MSU experiences.
“It’s an MSU memory,” Pelon said on “Exposure.” “When you think about your four years here at MSU, that could be something you think of. It was like oh, I went to the spring concert with all my friends and had a really great time. It’s something you can look back on and be like, this was super cool.”
The MSU Spring Concert is unlike any other event on campus throughout the year. It’s not only a concert, but it’s student negotiated, organized and promoted.
“It brings in so many different types of communities,” Lawrence said on “Exposure.” “We run a lot of events at RHA, but nothing as large-scale as the spring concert is. Nothing brings in the different kinds of demographics and backgrounds as the spring concert does. Getting to see people who might not interact with each other on a day-to-day basis is really cool.”
While the concert is student-organized, it wouldn’t be possible without the help of advisors, according to Lawrence.
“Everyone’s a student who graduates soon, so some people are coming in with no experience. Being on the committee for a year, it gives you that experience, but that’s why we need an advisor. Our advisor Jeremy has been a great help.”
“Some students in the group have worked on the concert in the past, but many are new,” Whiting says. “It's great to see how much they grow over the course of the year in terms of their skills, confidence and collaboration. They get to see what starts as just an idea in a small room grow into a big concert at the Breslin Center that brings in students and community members for a great evening.”
The Student Experience
For students of these organizations who want to get into event planning, marketing and promotion or any related field, the spring concert is an amazing opportunity to get hands-on experience in their field of choice.
“I liked discussing and being able to join the group when we were selecting an artist,” Heflin shared on “Exposure.” “But I’ve been treating this as more of a learning moment of how these things are built from the ground up in the music industry and when it comes to concert planning, because that’s always something I’ve always wanted to learn about. And this was a great opportunity to do that as a student on MSU’s campus.”
The opportunity to get hands-on experience with every aspect of concert planning and execution, then see it come to fruition in the spring is a powerful one. The students of RHA, Impact 89FM, UAB and ASMSU take advantage of this opportunity and make an unforgettable event for everyone in attendance.
“When it was my sophomore year, I was standing off to the side of the whole crowd and watching the people up in the Breslin stands and on the floor, all cheering,” Pelon says. “It was an adrenaline rush of, ‘Oh my gosh — I helped create this huge event. I had such a giant impact on all these people.’ It really made me feel a bunch of honor and pride for all that work I’ve been doing. And I’ll probably get those feelings again.”
Author: Zachary Phelps
Quotes: Student collaboration
Lauren Pelon:
Concert planning starts right after the previous concert is done. From assessing what went well or did not go well to teaching successors what they can do next, work for the spring concert feels like it never ends. To prepare for the Breslin, we had lots of back-and-forth communication and meetings to ensure that both parties were on the same page. Once we get closer to the date, we will also have the planners walk through the Breslin to understand how the concert will look and where to go day of.
The main partners for this event are Associated Students of Michigan State University, University Activities Board, Impact 89 FM and Residence Halls Association. We always have a great time as student leaders coming together to create such an impactful event for many students to attend. As this is the core group of planners, this past year we had the opportunity to expand our collaboration with partnering with the Dairy Store to name a spring concert themed ice cream. This was a very innovative marketing tactic that I was happy to see happen (and the ice cream was super delicious!) I hope to see the concert team try to incorporate other campus partners in for other innovative opportunities!
Students were very excited for the concert experience and reactions expressed that very well. All three artists got positive comments across the board. The student experience with the concert itself also was positive because of the opportunity to get exclusive concert merchandise and the opportunity to be the floor. Overall, the students that went had a fun time attending it!
I think that the event was a great success. We did not have too many issues then and it ran quite smoothly.
Jeremy Whiting
The spring concert is a great collaboration between Impact 89FM, RHA, UAB and ASMSU. Students plan the entire event, and advisers from each organization help support that work. Each organization brings it's particular expertise and areas of strength. Together, the student group works on artist selection and contract negotiation, venue logistics, marketing, ticketing, and everything else that goes into producing a successful show. Some students in the group have worked on the concert in the past, but many are new. It's great to see how much they grow over the course of the year in terms of their skills, confidence and collaboration. They get to see what starts as just an idea in a small room grow into a big concert at the Breslin Center that brings in students and community members for a great evening. The concert is always timed to be towards the end of the spring semester, so it's a really rewarding culmination of the hard work that's been put in throughout the year.
Podcast
Mention planning meetings around the student teams’ schedules
Maggie Heflin: “I liked discussing and being able to join the group when we were selecting an artist. But I’ve been treating this as more of a learning moment of how these things are built from the ground up in the music industry and when it comes to concert planning, because that’s always something I’ve always wanted to learn about. And this was a great opportunity to do that as a student on MSU’s campus.”
“I really appreciate the leadership that you guys have been offering, I can come to you guys with questions. So thank you RHA.”
UAB handles conversations with artists like negotiations
Lawrence: “While it’s student ran, we couldn’t do it without the help of our advisors”
Heflin: “Everyone’s a student who graduates soon, so some people are coming in with no experience. Being on the committee for a year, it gives you that experience, but that’s why we need an advisor. Our advisor Jeremy has been a great help.”
Pelon: “It’s an MSU memory. When you think about your four years here at MSU, that could be something you think of. It was like oh, I went to the spring concert with all my friends and had a really great time. It’s something you can look back on and be like, this was super cool.”
Lawrence: “RHA’s mission is that students come first. We represent our students, not the other way around. So everything that we do is to put the best product of events, opportunities and experiences out for them. That’s something from a marketing perspective that we keep in mind.”
Pelon: “When it was my sophomore year, I was standing off to the side of the whole crowd and watching the whole crowd of people up in the Breslin stands and on the floor all cheering. It was an adrenaline rush of, oh my gosh, I helped create this huge event. I had such a giant impact on all these people. It really made me feel a bunch of honor and pride of all that work I’ve been doing. And I’ll probably get those feelings again.” (Lawrence also corroborated these feelings)
Lawrence: “It’s bringing in so many different types of communities. We run a lot of events at RHA, but nothing as large scale as the spring concert is. Nothing brings in the different kind of demographics and backgrounds as the spring concert does. Getting to see people who might not interact with each other on a day-to-day basis is really cool.”
Spring Concert Ice Cream Flavor: Briston’s Blueberry Jam Session