Garret Berg is pretty sure A.S. Programming just redeemed itself. Less than a year after students slammed his office for orchestrating what many referred to as the death of the Sun God Festival, Berg ‘mdash; current associate vice president of programming ‘mdash; has secured a slew of musicians he said he feels certain will inject new life into the annual festival.
Taking the main stage will be alternative hip-hop troupe N.E.R.D., followed by bearded folk-rocker Iron and Wine. Engineer turned sweaty dancehall hipster Girl Talk will headline the festival’s dance tent, a massive deejay-oriented enclosure to be located in the northeast corner of RIMAC Field.
The three top acts will be accompanied by Motion City Soundtrack, Sara Bareilles, Augustana, the Cool Kids, Grand Old Party, Rootbeer, DJ Nu-Mark of Jurassic 5, Anavan and Nosaj Thing. Also working the stage will be Battle of the Bands winner, the Theory of Funkativity.
Cirque Berzerk ‘mdash; a contemporary dance’ group that re-imagines traditional circus performances by incorporating elements of punk rock, risque burlesque and horror-flick fantasy ‘mdash; will return this year for a full day of performances. Los Angeles-based comedians in the Upright Citizens Brigade are scheduled to perform throughout the day. Both attractions will be located on the midway, a canopied stage to be located in the center of RIMAC Field.
‘We couldn’t be happier with the lineup right now,’ Berg said. ‘We have diversity, we have big name acts ‘mdash; we think we really have something for everyone. It should be pretty phenomenal.’
Working with a total festival budget of approximately $550,000, Berg’s office sought to secure’ big-name artists by booking fewer secondary acts, pumping nearly one-third of the Sun God budget ‘mdash; a move inspired by student criticism of last year’s lineup.
‘What we heard from last year was ‘Enough of the small bands, we want that money spent on bigger acts,” Berg said. ‘We really listened to that feedback and got rid of some of those smaller acts and tried to re-orient stuff to the bigger acts.’
He said a great deal of attention went into securing acts that would appeal to a wider range of students than rapper Sean Kingston and rockers Coheed and Cambria, who performed last year.
‘If you put this side by side with last year’s lineup, it’s a world of difference,’ Berg said. ‘We feel that there’s truly something for everyone, and we’ve kind of thrown that phrase around in the past. But this year, from the beginning, we looked at every slot and said ‘What can we do with this? Who can we hit here?”
The addition of the dance tent was inspired by the recent surge in popularity of the Fall Quarter all-campus dance, a trend that Berg hoped to capitalize on by introducing a more dance-oriented aspect into the festival’s attractions. Aside from performances by Girl Talk, DJ Nu-Mark and a handful of other deejay acts, the tent will also feature daytime performa
nces by members of the Deejay and Vinylphiles Club.
The festival will feature two separate vendor fairs: student-run booths along the west end of RIMAC Field and a string of commercial vendors on Hopkins Drive.
Berg is also in talks with the Loft to set up a film, music and art showcase of ‘Loft experience,’ though plans are still in the early stages.
The programming office also worked to dramatically overhaul the festival’s wristband distribution system. This year, wristbands will be distributed on the day of the event at a designated check-in area consisting of 24 different waiting lines near the festival’s Ridge Walk entrance, a change that Berg hopes will streamline the process.
‘ ‘Students don’t have to worry about wristbands until the day of the festival,’ Berg said. ‘We’re basically going to run it like an airport and try get people through as quickly as possible.’
Re-entry to RIMAC Field will be permitted at any time throughout he 12-hour festival.
Berg said his department is working to create an additional series of Sun God-related activities in the week leading up to the main event, geared toward anticipation and expanding Sun God excitement beyond the confines of RIMAC Field. Though plans for these events have yet to be solidified, Berg said they would likely include noontime concerts in a centralized area such as Price Center Plaza.
‘We want to have an atmosphere around campus that is different from your typical week,’ Berg said. ‘Basically, transforming the campus ‘hellip; so that when you walk outside your dorm, you know it’s Sun God.’
Readers can contact Reza Farazmand at [email protected].