Bands Dashboard Confessional and Brand New are set to play at Binghamton University’s Events Center on Thursday, Dec. 7, in a concert sponsored by the University Programming Board. The Student Association, meanwhile, has its fingers crossed that this show breaks free of the less-than-stellar ticket sales of last year’s shows — two of which filled fewer than half of the available seats.
The bands are booked to play at the Events Center, a facility which can hold approximately 7,000. Tickets will cost $20 for BU students and $27 for regular admissions.
Tickets for the show will go on sale in the near future, although an exact date has not yet been set.
Sandi Dube, the SA’s vice president for University programming, said the pressure is on to make this concert a success — mainly to break away from the disappointing trend of poor concert sales last year.
UPB’s budget is divided into four categories, she said: cultural education, Binghamton Underground Music Presents (BUMP), festivals and concerts.
Dube said she had as much as $135,000 to spend for acts — but that was before debt from previous semesters, in which she said her predecessors overspent, was factored in. Although the exact amount of the deficit was unclear, Dube said she now has around just $35,000 for concerts.
This makes it nearly impossible to book the biggest-name acts like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Steven Colbert or Jon Stewart — which were all way out of her price range, Dube said.
“Everyone expects huge acts at this school,” Dube said, “but my budget is so much less than it was to begin with. That’s what’s causing all the financial difficulties.”