As the Spring Concert featuring Kendrick Lamar and DJ Steve Aoki approaches, Executive Director of Student Program Board Nick McCormick said ticket sales are going well.

Tickets for the April 12 event costs $10 for lawn general admission seating and $15 for pavilion for students. Public tickets are $20 for lawn general admission and $25 for pavilion.

The $25 pit tickets for OU students have already sold out.

Students are encouraged to buy their tickets early.

“If tickets are sold out, students get mad at us,” McCormick said. “But we’ve been selling tickets for the past two months so what do they want us to do?”

In the past, poor ticket sales caused tickets to be discounted. But McCormick said tickets will not be discounted as the concert comes closer.

“I can tell you we’re not having poor ticket sales and we will not lower the ticket price toward the end,” McCormick said.

Behind the scenes

While planning the spring concert, previously known as GrizzlyPalooza, SPB changed the name to shy away from student’s expectations of bringing multiple artists in.

“Although we are bringing multiple artists this time, it is not always going to work out that way,” McCormick said. “I don’t want future boards to have to deal with the fallout of that.”

Before SPB decided to bring in Kendrick Lamar and DJ Steve Aoki, they set up a student survey to find out what kind of genres the general population of OU wanted.

SPB got the result that urban artists were the most popular, but students were also interested in electronic and rock, according to McCormick.

While looking into those genres, keeping price and availability in mind, SPB heard about the tour announcement of Lamar and Aoki. They jumped on the opportunity to please both sides of the survey.

“I am very excited for Kendrick Lamar,” student Taylor Andreano said.

The last concert Andreano went to was two years ago when SPB brought LMFAO and Girl Talk to campus.

Previous concerts

In the past, SPB has spent $90,000-130,000 to bring artists in for the spring concert.

SPB is not spending more than they have in the past for this year’s concert, according to McCormick.

“That seems like a lot but the comeback is that we get a lot of money back from ticket sales,” McCormick said.

Upcoming events for SPB

For the remainder of the 2012-13 school year, SPB is finishing up with a few events and planning for the next school year.

McCormick will graduate but is actively working with the current SPB board, as well as their adviser, to gear them up for the next year.

The SPB change of administration is at the end of the winter semester instead of the beginning of the fall semester.

“It would be really hard to gear up for the year if you are new on the executive board and have one month to plan everything,” McCormick said. “Especially with all the contracts and discounts that come in way before that.”

SPB is rapidly increasing the amount of events they put on, from eight events in fall 2011 to 31 events in fall 2012. They hope to keep growing every year.

For more information on the spring concert or upcoming event by SPB visit their website at www.oakland.edu/spb or check out their Facebook page.