MAINstage expanding to parking lot Sunday; Hutchinson will headline

Guests at this year’s MAINstage beginning-of-the-school-year celebration will have more room to stretch their legs than previous years.

In addition to taking place on the hill overlooking the Rose Ponds near the Student Activity Center, the event, starting at 4 p.m., will also expand into the nearby parking lot, said Damon Brown, Coordinator of Student Activities for the Office of Student Life.

“The biggest change this year is the location,” Brown said, who is in charge of MAINstage for Student Life. “The biggest complaint in years past is it’s too crowded, being up on the hill, so we’ve moved it to the parking lot. The food tent is still up on the hill, the concert will take place in the same area, but the actual business and RSO tents will be in the parking lot.”

Although the business/RSO tents will have roughly the same amount of tables as last year, moving them will open up more space and allow for more walking room and more room for games and rides, Brown said.

“We’ll have total around 300, 325 RSOs, businesses and departments taking part in MAINstage, and that number has been pretty consistent throughout the years,” Brown said.

He said MAINstage is primarily a two-part event, consisting of the display of businesses, academic departments and registered student organizations in a series of tents and the concert at 7:15 p.m.

“That’s kind of the entertainment piece. It’s our traditional concert every year,” Brown said.

This year’s concert will be headlined by singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson and is being handled cooperatively by On The Fly Productions and Program Board.

“We go to an annual conference every year where we get to preview different acts, and we had seen (Hutchinson) there,” said Program Board president and Muskegon junior David Breed. “We just fell in love with him and thought he would be a great fit for campus…definitely an up an coming star, so we thought we should try and bring him in on his way up.”

Houghton Lake junior Doug Pryor is planning to go to the MAINstage concert, despite being unfamiliar with Hutchinson and his music.

“I mean, I got to get caught up on the new artists and what’s out there now,” Pryor said. “I’m planning to go to MAINstage. I like getting to know new people and all the free stuff, and yeah, I’ll go check out the concert.”