Students have been ecstatic about the concerts schedule for this semester. Although some of the more high-profile acts (like Girlpool and Kero Kero Bonito) were leaked via Spotify prior to the official lineup release on Friday, Sept. 7, finally seeing a complete concerts schedule did not fail to be one of the most exciting moments of the new semester.
This year’s concerts coordinator, Cassidy Christiansen ’20, worked hard behind the scenes all summer long to provide the College with some of the best up-and-coming artists of modern times, despite cuts to the student activities budget this year. “Even though I’ve been in concerts for two years, I didn’t really know what [the booking process] would look like,” Christiansen said.
The manager of Girlpool and Porches had worked with Grinnell in the past, making it easier to bring these high-profile bands to the school. Additionally, Kero Kero Bonito showed an interest in the College which was very much reciprocated by a campus obsessed with their music.
“You get a lot of artists reaching out to you to play shows, so the lineup this year is a mix of people who reached out to me and people who I reached out to based on responses to a Google Form that I sent out,” Christiansen said.
Christiansen reached out to accomplished musician Haley Henderickx after receiving several requests to bring her to campus (paired with their own personal love of her music), and also found that she wanted to play Gardner, wedged in between two previously-booked shows in Iowa City and Des Moines.
“I’m happy to be bringing a lot of women of color to campus,” they added.
The semester to come will be packed with outstanding musicians, so make sure to head on down to Gardner and give them your ears when the time is right.
