Guster, a band that grew out of college friendships, will return to Dartmouth this spring for the Programming Board's annual big concert.
The alternative rock group is scheduled to perform on May 5 at 7 p.m. in Leede Arena. Tickets will go on sale April 15 at the Collis Information Desk at a cost of $10 for students and $20 for community members.
The three men of Guster first met during freshman orientation at Tufts University in 1991, recorded an album before they graduated and broke into the big-time music scene a few years later.
They last visited Hanover to kick off Green Key Weekend 2002, drawing a positive overall review in The Dartmouth.
"Guster did not wow the audience with virtuosity and their song writing is not phenomenal," wrote Brent Reidy '05. "But it doesn't matter; their performance was fun, and purely enjoyable. They are showmen who love simply performing for receptive audiences."
Unlike that concert, this show will come two weeks before Green Key and include an activist component as part of band member Adam Gardner's environmental foundation.
The performance is currently scheduled to be the band's last stop on a six-week college "Campus Consciousness Tour," which includes food drives and renewable energy promotions. The band encourages student groups along their route to participate in these activities, and Programming Board members said they will solicit help from campus environmental groups like Environmental Conservation Organization and the Big Green Bus.
"Guster really wants to make this an event, make it a whole day thing and bring in the entire school," Board member Sebastian Restrepo '07 said.
Dartmouth is currently finalizing contract arrangements with the band, according to assistant director of student activities Amy Newcomb. She said the band expressed strong interest in coming to Dartmouth through its agent because of its previous engagements at the College and that Guster canceled another commitment on its May tour so it could perform at Dartmouth.
"They know that our campus is doing a lot in terms of sustainability and resources," Newcomb said.
Dartmouth will pay the band a $40,000 talent fee and foot the bill of approximately $20,000 for set-up and sound, according to Newcomb. The money comes out of the Board concert budget, sponsored by the student activity tuition fee, but Newcomb said she expects ticket sales to allow them to recoup about half the total cost.
The Board, which is open to all students and holds weekly meetings to plan concerts and other events, eliminated a number of possible acts last term because their talent fees were too high or they were not touring, Newcomb said. Board member Michael Dovidio '07 said they chose Guster in part because they received BlitzMail messages in support of the band.
For about a year, construction on Alumni Gym and the resulting increased use of Leede has limited the Board to smaller venues like Spaulding Auditorium, where audiences were small for singer Vanessa Carlton and comedian Jamie Kennedy in the fall.
"We were trying to find something that could fill in while we couldn't get into Leede," Newcomb said.
The construction, still in the final stages, also made it hard to line up a date for a large-scale concert.
"It's hard enough trying to get the bands out to Hanover, N.H., and the date restrictions make it tougher," Board member Elizabeth Silvey '08 said.
