By Bianca Strzelczyk
Council for University Programs Concert Chair Josh Pratt received an unexpected phone call from his advisor Erin Dayharsh on April 1.
“What’s the worst thing I could tell you?” she asked.
“The concert being canceled,” Pratt said.
Dayharsh’s news may not have been that drastic, but it was no April Fool’s joke: Mos Def had backed out of the Springfest concert.
Only days away from the highly-publicized concert, Pratt knew CUP had to think fast, and within hours the group secured a bid with Boston-bred Celtic rockers the Dropkick Murphys.
Mos Def canceled after signing a contract March 31 to film an unknown movie in Toronto. Clauses in artists’ contracts allow them to back out of concerts for numerous reasons out of the organization’s control, Dayharsh said.
Dropkick Murphys was on one of the preliminary band lists of possible Springfest acts, but the group denied Northeastern’s bid because one of the band members had a prior commitment, Pratt said.
However, when approached for the second time by CUP the band accepted the last-minute bid.
Although CUP was upset at first, the group is excited about the new lineup, said Allyson Savin, CUP president.
“Some students will undoubtedly be disappointed,” she said, adding there is no way to please everyone. “CUP has had a lot of setbacks but it’s just the music industry,” Savin said. “We’re not just sitting around. A lot of hours have been put into the show.”
Northeastern is not the only school affected by Mos Def’s cancellation. The rap artist canceled 13 other concert dates, including a performance at Brandeis University’s Springfest, where he was the only act.
Students such as Cory Lloyd, a middler engineering major, said the addition of Dropkick Murphys is exciting. Lloyd planned on going to see Moby but was not excited about Mos Def performing.
“Springfest just got a hell of a lot better,” he said.
When the concert acts were first announced, some students felt the concert was not rock enough, Pratt said.
“Now it’s a solid rock show,” he said.
Other students, including Mike Jaskulski, a middler music industry major, are unhappy with the new lineup.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” he said. “I was going just to see Mos Def.”
CUP is offering refunds for students like Jaskulski who already purchased tickets and would rather not go to the concert because of the changed lineup.
Refunds will be available until 4 p.m. on Friday at Matthews Arena.
Although ticket sales have already been opened up to other universities, CUP is most concerned about notifying the Northeastern population about the change.
“We don’t think selling out will be a problem,” Pratt said.
Savin said she hopes Northeastern students purchase the tickets soon so what remains of the tickets, an amount CUP would not disclose, are not bought out by students at other universities.
