"We get a list from our middle manager and two open dates from Leede [Arena] after the sports schedule has been set," the board's programming chair Ann Elise DeBelina '10 said. "The Shins won our initial survey that we put out, but when we went to book them we found out they had already booked a show in Tokyo for the next night. They were apologetic and said they would make an effort to come in the spring."
Despite this setback, DeBelina said the board sent out another student survey to see what band students would prefer instead, Spoon or Jack's Mannequin.
"Spoon won by a landslide, but when we went to book them they had already booked another show for that date," DeBelina said. "We didn't want to book Jack's Mannequin since students weren't interested and instead took this as an opportunity to do something different. We met with people around campus to start setting up a smaller show."
Programming Board is currently in the process of finding a smaller band to book, according to DeBelina. One possibility is KT Tunstall.
"An advantage to having multiple, smaller acts is we can bring in a variety of genres," DeBelina said. "This targets a group of students who were not interested before. It is hard to get a band everyone will like who is willing to play in front of 3,000 people when we can only charge 10 to 20 dollars."
For the major concert this spring, the Programming Board is hoping to bring in the Shins, but nothing has been set.
Past performers have included Third Eye Blind, O.A.R., Vanessa Carlton, Maroon 5 and The Roots.
"We are probably going to do another survey of students for the spring concert," DeBelina said. "We don't have dates for Leede Arena right now, but we will try and cut down time between sending out the survey to booking the band so we can get a band students want."
The Programming Board, which has a total yearly budget of $118,000, serves to bring to campus non-academic social programming. The board is funded by the $65 activities fee charged to each student. Traditionally, the board spends $60,000 on a major performer, with $58,000 remaining to sponsor other events.
This fall Programming Board is looking to sponsor a free skate night on Nov. 3 in Thompson Arena and a Bingo Night on Nov. 16. Other events include a Mardi Gras night in the winter and "The Regurgitater" in February.
