News

Potential Bumstock changes highlighted

By Tony Reaves

Posted on Jan. 26, 2006, at 12:00 a.m.

Bumstock is under new management, and this year students may see some radical changes to the annual music festival.

Vice President of Student Entertainment Derek Mitchell outlined a host of possible changes to the event.

“It’s time the university and Student Entertainment make it a new, bigger, better event and stop focusing so much on the same old bands,” he said.

New positions, new locations and new bands mean a revamped Bumstock this spring, according to Mitchell.

“We’re toying with maybe moving it inside to deal with people’s complaints of it being cold and to alleviate concerns of it raining, in which case bands might not perform,” Mitchell said.

Bumstock will not be a repeat of past years.

“I’m personally implementing a policy with Bumstock this year that if you’ve performed at Bumstock in the last few years, there’s a good chance you’re not performing,” Mitchell said.

In addition to the Bumstock director position, Andrew Gerke, a Bumstock business manager has been hired.

Kyle Jarius, a second-year marine science and history major, will handle financial matters.

Their salaries constitute less than 4 percent of the festival’s total budget of $50,000. Gerke’s pay rate is $1,195.38 per year and Jarius makes “roughly half that,” according to Mitchell.

Mitchell said he is paying attention to the Bumstock forum on FirstClass, where students can post ideas and bands they would like to see.

“I’m printing off those messages and forwarding them on to the Bumstock director to bring up to the committee as another means of bringing in student input,” he said.

Requests thus far have ranged from a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band, to local metal act Nobis, to national punk bands like Against Me! and Piebald.

Whether or not the concert is held indoors, it’s unlikely they’ll use the traditional Bumstock field.

The parking lot there has been expanded in recent years and the site will eventually be the new campus recreation center.

“There’s not a whole lot of space up there that’s actually still grass,” Mitchell explained.

For now, the Bumstock planners are talking to campus officials about location options.

“It’s all coordinated with the university and respective departments that we might need to talk with, to find out what’s available and what they recommend and what they want,” Mitchell said.

Campus Currents: Bumstock