Do FGCU events only target one type of music? I hear a lot of dissatisfaction from peers on the lack of variety of music in events. So I set out to find out what’s the truth behind this campus opinion.
FGCU currently offers two annual concerts Net Fest and Eaglepalooza. It offered Bird Bash in 2009, a concert which featured an alternative music option of Country and Rock N Roll music but it hasn’t been offered again. Net Fest has offered alternative rock bands in the past including the likes of Taking Back Sunday, 3oh! 3, The Maine, but in recent outings it has targeted Hip-Hop artists like Whiz Khalifa.
Eaglepalooza in the other hand has always aimed for Hip-Hop artists traditionally. It all started with Young Joc in 2007, as the trend continued it featured artists like Busta Rhymes, Sean Paul, LMFAO, to the most recent Mr. World Wide- Pitbull in 2011. This year is not a huge shocker that the trend continues, featuring rap artists Trey Songs and Tyga.
Students often ask who is responsible for choosing these artists. The responsible department for setting these events is the Programming board. We contacted Joseph McGibboney, who is the Coordinator for Programming, via E-mail and Phone and we never received a response from him. We were contacting this department to see if there wer’e surveys or some studies done on campus to decide the popular music in regards to events.
We also tried getting in touch with Teri Bigos, who is the Coordinator for Student Organization Development and we also did not have any luck.
When asking different students on campus, their opinion varied tremendously on the music selection.
Some of them liked the idea of playing Hip-Hop and Rap and emphasized it needed to be showcased more.
Daniel Delgado majoring in Nursing said “I would say that I would like less House music and more Hip Hop/ Rap.”
Other students like Kader Paz majoring in Nursing, felt that the music variety pertaining school events feels just right. “Personally, I feel like the music is well diversified. While on campus I’ve heard different styles, enough to please the different types.”
Miguel Garduno an Accounting major feels the same way, expressing his satisfaction on the variety offered. “The music variety in school concerts and events is met. I am satisfied with the options that are featured.”
Other students like Ryan Toohey a Communication major find themselves completely isolated with the music choice featured every year and want no part of school events. “I am not satisfied with the variety of music events that are held at FGCU. I would never consider attending an event such as Eaglepalooza because it is outside the realm of music that I listen to. I believe the problem of a lack of music diversity lies in the fact that we only have two music events sponsored by FGCU each year. We would be able to bring more diverse artists to our campus if we created the opportunity to have artists of all genres perform at our school on a regular basis. Our goal should be to hold multiple smaller-scale concerts that appeal to all genres each month.”
Other students like, Jennifer J. Mann Biology major simply enjoys the general College experience of attending concerts. “I believe they choose artist that are admired by the majority of students at FGCU as well as modern to our age range. I would attend the concert just for the experience and lively hood of our youth generation.”
There were other students that brought an alternative music option for discussion. Yanelys Gutierrez a Biology major/ minor in Chemistry said “I’m satisfied with what’s being featured, what I would suggest is maybe more Latin music than Hip-Hop.
Joey Fumero-Manso Marketing major/ minoring in Advertisement also suggested an alternative option of honoring the old school traditional music that paved the way to new rhythms. “I believe the genres that have been exposed are ok, it is not something new or unknown. I wouldn’t mind hear some old school Latin music or even old Hip-Hop. I think many of these young students should hear and learn about where these genres originated from.”
Rachel Perez a Communication major feels even though the Programming Board tries its hardest to vary the acts the turnout always remains the same. “I think that FGCU tries to diversify the bands that are chosen for Eaglepalooza but, in my opinion, every year it seems to be the same types of musicians. Whether this is due to booking issues or budget, I don’t know, but I wish that there was a broader range of music.
There were also students like, Liz Shimoni Psychology major that says FGCU has improved throughout the years on music variety. Emphasizing that even though their events are not where it should be they are definitely heading the right path. “Overall the variety has been pretty good; it’s an upgrade from my freshman year. I feel the events are on their way to being great. I feel that it was a quick and accurate decision by the Programming Board to book Try Songs after Big Sean’s cancellation.”
clementhernandez 