The Student Program Board has postponed their annual fall concert until the winter semester, according to a press release sent out last week. SPB will now host a concert in April at Meadow Brook Music Festival, with tickets going on sale in March.

“We as a board decided that it is definitely better for students,” Cody Ramsey, chair of SPB, said. “It was definitely a intentional move to the spring for students.”

Ramsey sees the concert delay as a benefit for students. He says SPB will now have more time to plan, will have April weather on their side and can take advantage of college tours, which are usually more cost-effective than major tours.

A search for talent to perform at the fall concert began this past April. The difficulty with booking at this time is that most artists already have their summer tours booked by April, according to Ramsey.

“We sent offer letters to three major artists and they were all declined,” Ramsey said.

Another major conflict with the fall concert planning was with scheduling.

According to Ramsey, the concert was planned for Sept. 18 at Meadow Brook Music Festival. iHeart Radio Music Festival, an annual festival held in Las Vegas, is being held on Sept. 18 and 19. Artists performing at iHeart were already booked on the intended SPB concert date or were not able to book the day before and travel to the festival the next day.

“We could have still had [the concert], but it wouldn’t have been a big name. It would have been someone that didn’t really draw too much attention that students may or may not have wanted to go to,” Ramsey said.

Over the past few years, SPB has hosted acts such as Kendrick Lamar and Steve Aoki, Big Sean, and Magic! and Iggy Azalea, last year’s fall concert duo. These concerts have all featured major artists as well as discounted ticket prices for OU students to encourage student attendance.

“When you are trying to sell out Meadow Brook Music Festival, it’s a lot of tickets so you’re trying to appeal to the masses,” Ramsey said. “You’re trying to sell as many tickets as possible.”

SPB sent out a survey earlier in the summer to poll students about concert input. Lena Mischack, an Oakland University Student Congress legislator and host of alternative music show “The Flipside” on WXOU, completed the survey. Mishack requested alternative artists such as Flume and Childish Gambino for the SPB concert. 

“I haven’t heard of them bringing an alternative artist, so they could try something like that,” Mishack said. “I think [SPB] assumes that students are into the bubblegum pop stuff, but a lot of people aren’t.”

To get involved with Student Program Board, fill out their committee application form on GrizzOrgs or visit their office at 64 Oakland Center.