Program Board announces Chromeo as spring semester musical act
Program Board has announced the funk/electronic dance music (EDM) group Chromeo, with special guest Slaptop, as the main musical act for the spring semester. This will be the first EDM group to come to Central Michigan University in 10 years.
The concert will start at 8 p.m. Feb. 26 in Finch Fieldhouse. Tickets are $11 for students and $22 for the public. It is all general admission. Tickets have been on sale since Jan. 25 and are available for purchase through Ticket Central.
"Since we didn't have a concert last semester (Program Board) was looking to come back in the spring and do something pretty cool for students," said Program Board President Kaylee Bloom. "We went forward with Chromeo because they're EDM, but they're more of a funk/EDM which a lot of people can identify with."
Chromeo is a two person ensemble that hails from Montreal. Comprised of David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel, the group has jokingly described themselves as "the only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture."
The group has released four studio albums since its creation in 2002, and has partnered with a myriad of different artists on their songs including Solange Knowles, Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig and American recording artist Toro y Moi.
The last time Finch Fieldhouse was used as a concert venue was two year ago, said Director of Student Activities and Involvement Damon Brown.
"Finch (Fieldhouse) is really the best venue for these types of mid-sized shows," he said. "When you look at McGuirk (Arena), that venue can hold about 4,500 people, and when you look at the estimated guess number of people who (Program Board) thinks will attend the show, we don't think that number will reach the size of what (McGuirk) can hold."
The decision to choose Chromeo came after students expressed in a fall 2014 survey a want to see more EDM groups be brought to CMU, Bloom said. She believes Chromeo provides a "happy medium" for students both into electronic music and not.
"We hope (Chromeo) can bridge the genre gaps for students," she said. "We feel that (the group) will be able to please a lot of different students' music taste because it's not straight forward country, or straight forward pop; it's a group that everyone can get along with and dance to."
Overall expense for the show will not be determined until the contract is finalized, which is expected to happen in two weeks, Brown said.
Though pleased with Program Board's turn towards the EDM genre, many students admit they haven't heard of the group Chromeo.
"Even though I haven't heard about (Chromeo) I would definitely love to see (Program Board) bring more EDM to campus," Grand Rapids senior Christa Rwakayija. "If I've never heard of (an artist) then I usually Google or Youtube them to see if I like (their sound). But whether or not I'll see them depends on if I know the band rather than if I know the genre."
Ticket prices are also a large factor in if she'd see a show, Rwakayija said. Mount Pleasant graduate student Christa Natke feels the same way, saying whether or not she recognizes a band's name is more important than what genre they fall under.
"As far as being representative of the music taste for the student body, a lot of people I know are into (EDM) as a genre of music," Natke said. "I prefer indie rock, so (Chromeo) isn't really my scene, so I wouldn't really go to that kind of concert, but if (Program Board) started to bring in more indie music then I would definitely think about attending more shows."
Bloom remains optimistic the show will attract a crowd comprised of students who listen to all genres of music.
"I think this show will please a lot of people who have been critical of Program Board," Bloom said. "This is a great opportunity for us to break into a different genre that we haven't necessarily touched at all, and to foster that dance vibe that students of any background can come and appreciate."
