Concert scheduled by Associated Student Body for Feb. 24th cancelled by administration
Chase WohrleStaff WriterThe concert planned by the Associated Student Body (ASB) for Feb. 24th was postponed, effectively cancelling it.On Thursday, Feb. 9 event coordinator and ASB member Cameron Leventen was informed of the administration’s decision.“I was told by my ASB administrator that the concert was not going to happen,” junior Leventen said. “She told us [the administration] wanted us to postpone [the concert], but at that point, it was virtually impossible to continue with the same artists.”The artists scheduled to perform were Warm Brew, Casey Veggies and special guest Dom Kennedy.According to Leventen, preparations like artist bookings and merchandise, floor plans, concessional foods, security, publicity and potential revenue had been confirmed, but the Feb. 24 concert was still cancelled.“We had personalized wristbands that were here and ready to go, along with fliers that we had to go pick up,” Leventen said.According to Samo Activities Director and ASB adviser Veronica Garcia-Hecht, even after all of this preparation, the students lacked “details” in the paperwork and only filled certain requirements after they were instructed to do so. By the time these requirements were filled, Garcia-Hecht says, it was already too late.“ASB did not get the proper approvals in time. They planned it when our own technicians [would be] busy with South Pacific [which had all their approvals in early],” principal Laurel Fretz wrote in an email. “Plus because of trying to do it on the 24th, Barnum Hall wasn’t available.”On the 24th, a technical rehearsal for the theater program’s “South Pacific,” is scheduled to happen in Barnum.“In order for the [concert] to happen, all of [South Pacific’s] equipment would’ve had to have gone away,” Technical Theater Coordinator David McCrum said.Director of Theater Operations and Facility Permits Carey Upton says the concert planning committee failed to meet deadlines.“You have to get a budget long ahead of time, and then figure out what your ticket sales are going to be, to prove that you can meet that budget,” Upton said.However, Leventen thinks the concert was cancelled for different reasons, partly because of the communication issues between ASB and administrators.Leventen also thinks the administration was uncomfortable hosting a band named “Warm Brew,” and the group’s explicit song lyrics affirmed the inappropriateness.Sophomore Ben Brady thinks administrators were worried the concert could cause racial and violent problems.“They said it would cause too much violence,” Brady said.However, according to Garcia-Hecht the recent violence and racial issues did not affect the cancellation.Members of Warm Brew said the concert would have sparked positivity and could have even helped alleviate any tensions by bringing the Samo community together.“For us to do a show would better relations between everybody here,” Warm Brew member Jahmiu Kazeem said. “It wouldn’t make anything worse, and there definitely wouldn’t be any fights.”Warm Brew had been excited to perform at Samo.“We went here, so it’s important to make sure the kids know that they need to support real hip-hop,” member Taylor Ray Wright said. “We want to make sure this era lives on in the right light.”Warm Brew and Casey Veggies had planned to donate a portion of their earnings from merchandise sales to AVID.Though this concert was cancelled, Leventen is optimistic that another, similar event can be successfully planned and executed.“A concert in general is something I am pushing to do,” she said. “I am not letting this down without a fight and I want Samo to experience an event like the one we had planned.”