Jameson Filston, Campus Carrier arts & living editor

Jameson Filston | Campus Carrier

Danielle Bouchard of Oh Honey sings a mix of folk music and pop covers during the second act.

Students gathered on the Cage Center side lawn on Saturday for the annual “Welcome Back” concert hosted by KCAB. 

The event featured two bands: Half the Animal and Oh Honey. The bands played a mix of alternative and folk music and attracted a decent crowd, according to KCAB President senior Karolyn Olsen. 

Junior Megan Hill, vice president of operations for KCAB, was in charge of booking the bands for the event. KCAB found Half the Animal through a conference called the National Association for Campus Activities in February.  

KCAB was originally looking for pop artists to perform at the concert, but started looking at alternative and folk artists to stay within their budget.  

Hill said that much of the communication with the bands was through an agent with a booking agency called Concert Ideas that helped to contact and contract the musicians. Olsen said that contacting the bands through the agent was a good way to work on her professional communication skills. She also said that she got a unique insight into the music industry. 

Funding for the event came from the student activities fee, which every student pays as a part of their tuition. KCAB has a set budget for the event that is approved by the budget and finance commitee.

The KCAB publicity team made sure to let students know when and where the event was by sending out emails and social media alerts over the summer and posting the information around campus once students arrived.

Olsen said that about 500 students attended the event. Sophomore Julie Belivin, a KCAB programmer, said that some people came to see a to the concert to see a artist they aready follow.

“It was a really nice night,” said Belvin, “The music was good.” 

Olsen was also pleased at the turnout, especially because the concert took place at the same time as the televised McGregor versus Mayweather fight. She said that some students left to watch the fight, but many stayed for both bands. She also said that there were some challenges in getting the musicians to come, but the event itself went very smoothly. Olsen said she thinks that the students really enjoyed the concert this year.

Hill said she enjoyed continuing the tradition of the welcome-back weekend and was happy about its success. 

“It is one of my favorite events every year,” Hill said.