This year, Old Main Music Festival and Down in the District will combine to become Spring Fever, a free on-campus concert. The concert will be sponsored by the Campus Activities Board, Music Makers Productions and the Student Association.
Spring Fever will be held April 14 on the main stage at the amphitheater and a smaller stage at the Junction, said Bobbie Lee Daniel, CAB student director.
As of Wednesday, no bands have yet been confirmed as performers, Daniel said.
Music Makers student director Brad Burton said there will be six to seven bands, and his organization is “looking for a pretty diverse group of acts.”
Bids are out for certain bands, but he does not know when a line-up will be selected, he said.
“It could be days, or it could be weeks.”
Daniel said the organizations have tried to get feedback from students on the bands they would like to see.
“I think for all three organizations, our main purpose was that we wanted to bring bands that are really nationally known,” he said.
Music Makers, CAB and the MSU Student Association worked together to plan the event, SA President J.R. Love said.
“We asked ourselves, ‘How can we provide the best event for students?'” he said.
“We all decided what would be the best option for students was a free concert on campus.”
Another factor that makes Spring Fever different from the Old Main Music Festival and Down in the District is that it will be on campus rather than downtown as the festivals have been in the past.
Down in the District was a free concert with multiple acts in the Cotton District sponsored by CAB, and Old Main Music Festival was a ticketed concert held on Main Street sponsored by Music Makers.
The two concerts were usually about two weeks apart from each other, and Burton said it did not make sense to have competing festivals.
“In a way, I think we were hurting ourselves by trying to do two concerts so close together,” Daniel said.
There are plans to get the whole Starkville community involved in the event, she said.
“We are going to have a more family-oriented atmosphere, especially in the afternoon, which will consist of having inflatables and other activities,” Daniel said.
Love said the organizations plan to “partner with the community” for the event.
“I meet with the mayor biweekly and with the Chamber of Commerce monthly, so I will be consulting them in order for us to work together,” Love said.
All of the vendors that CAB usually used for Down in the District have been asked back this year, Daniel said.
Once there is confirmation on all the vendors and more details about the concert, a map will be posted on Music Makers’ and CAB’s Web sites to show concert-goers where everything will be located for Spring Fever, Burton said.
Love said since this was the first time the organizations have combined the music festivals, “it will be planning as we go.”
“We are just looking forward to making it a great event,” he said.