Students gathered at the Will Packer Amphitheater Thursday night to hear the artist lineup for this year’s homecoming concert. The reveal was the main event for the Homecoming Release Party hosted by the Student Government Association which included food vendors and live entertainment for the student body.
SGA revealed the artists performing this year will be Mariah the Scientist, Nardo Wick, and Toosii.
There were mixed reactions among the student body about the lineup. Broadcast journalism student Mya Acuff, however, was hopeful.
“Although I don’t listen to these artists, I’m still open to different songs,” Acuff said. “I’m glad that our SGA hosted something like this so that there’s some build-up of the different events on campus. I’m just glad things seem more organized than everything that happened in the previous year.”
SGA Vice President Jeffery Francis provided more insight as to how the Mondelus and Francis Administration took the proper precautions to make sure everything ran smoothly when acquiring artists.
“In our quest to secure talented artists, we took the necessary step of opening a bid and carefully evaluating the companies that could assist us in this endeavor,” Francis began. “After a thorough assessment, we awarded the bid to the company we believed would be the most effective in helping us secure the desired artists.”
Francis went on to discuss the reasoning behind the artists chosen.
“We were not only focused on selecting artists that would resonate with our community but also artists that fit within our budget,” he continued. “We wanted to provide a fantastic concert experience while being mindful of our financial resources. We contacted various artists, considered their availability, popularity, and cost, and ultimately made choices that would give us the best value for our budget.”
Taking the budget into consideration, there were some obstacles that the administration faced while putting the homecoming concert together.
“When booking artists for our FAMU Homecoming concert, we had to consider the budget constraints,” Francis said. “The allocated budget for the 2023 homecoming concert was set at $250k, which was based on the enrollment from the previous year.”
Francis explains the budget put substantial constraint on the artist the administration could’ve chosen.
“While we had our eyes on some A-list artists that FAMU would love,” Francis explained, “Their fees ranged from 400 to 500 thousand, which exceeded our budget. We had to make strategic choices and prioritize artists who fit within our financial limitations.”
Francis had also said that by throwing the release party for Homecoming, created a “buzz and excitement among the FAMUly.” He announced SGA had more campus-wide events such as giveaways, campaigns, and other festivities next month.
To stay up to date on homecoming activities for this year, make sure to follow @FAMU_1887 and visit https://homecomingatfamu.com for information on how to get tickets for the concert.