When Brown Concert Agency announced its highly anticipated Spring Weekend lineup on Thursday night, the response was swift and fierce.
Quickly after the announcement, dozens of students shared their reactions on social media, including Instagram and Sidechat, to the release of the annual festival鈥檚 2024 performers. While some shared their excitement for the artists, many voiced disapproval.
鈥淲e get hate every year,鈥� BCA Co-Head Catherine Yang 鈥�24 wrote in an email to The Herald. 鈥淲e know to expect controversy surrounding the lineup.鈥�
But on Saturday, BCA removed the lineup release poster from their Instagram at the recommendation of the Student Activities Office, which received complaints from community members who alleged that the poster was 鈥渆xplicitly antisemitic鈥� or 鈥渜uestioned what the organizers intended to convey about who was welcome at the Spring Weekend concerts,鈥� wrote Joie Forte, senior associate dean and director of student activities.
Upon sharing those complaints with BCA on Saturday, SAO suggested that the organization temporarily archive the post as they looked into the complaints, Forte wrote.
Red, black and green featured prominently in the previously archived lineup poster 鈥� which some students said mirrored the colors of the Palestinian flag, questioning if BCA intended to do so.
The lineup poster announced Elyanna, a Palestinian-Chilean artist, as a featured artist in the weekend lineup. Many students shared supportive comments on her addition to the festival鈥檚 activities on the now-removed Instagram post, with several including reference to her Palestinian heritage.
The lineup was un-archived late Tuesday evening, after this story was initially published. In an online statement released after the post was un-archived, BCA wrote, "We reject the notion that the lineup or poster contains antisemitic sentiments in any way and condemn all forms of racism and identity-based harassment that have arisen in response to our lineup and poster."
Yang shared with The Herald that BCA members faced identity-based harassment and 鈥渋nappropriate targeting,鈥� which led them to take down Instagram posts featuring members of the student group.
鈥淚n regards to a few complaints we have received, we want to clarify that BCA is in no way a hateful or exclusionary organization,鈥� Yang wrote. 鈥淲e have always strived to represent different, and often underrepresented, sides of the student body across genres/demographics/languages with our lineup and graphics. We reject the notion that the lineup or poster contains hateful symbolism in any way.鈥�
For most students, qualms with the announced lineup came from their unfamiliarity with the artists.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 recognize many of the names, and I鈥檓 a person who really considers themself to be into music, so I was kind of surprised and I guess just a bit disappointed,鈥� Nate Rodden 鈥�26 told The Herald.
鈥淚 hate to say that (the artists) are too small, but I feel like they just weren鈥檛 indicative of what Brown students actually listen to,鈥� Chloe Daniel 鈥�27 said.
BCA Co-Head Brian Wang 鈥�24 said that the organization strived to give students as full a Spring Weekend experience as possible despite the cuts made to the program budget.
鈥淲e wanted to still give people as much music as we could,鈥� Wang said, adding that because the festival is only one day, BCA hoped to 鈥渆xtend the experience a little bit longer鈥� by choosing four artists to perform.
With fewer artists in the lineup than usual, Yang said that diversity of sound among the artists was one of the most important considerations when curating the lineup.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always looking for new genres or new types of artists that we haven鈥檛 had before,鈥� Yang added. 鈥淚t keeps things fun and interesting for everyone, and can also put people on to the plethora of different musicians and artists that exist out there.鈥�
But many felt that the artists selected this year did not meet students鈥� expectations for the event.
Austin Xiang 鈥�26, a former Herald reporter, said that while he enjoys the music of the artists in this year鈥檚 lineup, he didn鈥檛 feel that it was fitting for the event. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something that can really get a crowd going,鈥� he said.
鈥淚鈥檝e been giving a listen to each of the artists (and) it felt like some pretty mellow music choices,鈥� Rodden said. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to see more variety 鈥� some energetic artists and some more relaxing artists.鈥�
According to Wang, stage presence and the ability to perform were also key factors in the decision. 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited about all the artists in regards to their performing capabilities.鈥�
鈥淲hether or not you might have known the artists beforehand, I think that a great performance is universally appealing,鈥� Yang added. She cited last year鈥檚 headliner Remi Wolf as an example, noting that though many audience members had never heard of her before the lineup was announced, her 鈥渟tage presence and magnetism鈥� captivated audiences.
Wang also remarked on the importance of diverse representation in the festival鈥檚 lineup. In particular, they pointed to the significance of headliner Yves Tumor, who is nonbinary.
鈥淗aving someone that is gender non-conforming as our headliner is really exciting and it means so much,鈥� they said, adding that they hope audience members will feel 鈥渉eard, seen and represented鈥� by the artists this year.
Yang added that the group also considered diversity of language, highlighting the opportunity to feature Elyanna, who primarily sings in Arabic. Outside of Maye鈥檚 performance at Spring Weekend in 2022, which featured songs in Spanish, 鈥渨e haven鈥檛 really been able to feature someone who is predominantly (a) non-English (performing artist),鈥� Yang said.
Some students felt dissatisfied with the organization鈥檚 decision-making process and expressed a need for more input from voices outside of BCA.
Fillip Gold 鈥�26, who commented 鈥渟traight garbage鈥� on the lineup post, told The Herald he feels that the artist selection 鈥渟hould be more of a democratic decision,鈥� allowing students to vote on performers.
鈥淚 feel like just having more student opinions heard outside of BCA would have probably been more beneficial,鈥� Daniel said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a concert for (thousands of) people and only like 10 people are picking it.鈥� BCA comprises 17 undergraduate student members, who are selected by application.
鈥淚 know that there are some people who are huge fans of these artists, but I just don鈥檛 think that most people are,鈥� Rodden said. 鈥淚f there was at least a little bit of (student) input, I think things would have been different.鈥�
Assembling such a large-scale event came with challenges. 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly been an unprecedented year,鈥� Wang said, noting that financial constraints coupled with a sudden change in faculty advising made this a 鈥測ear of rediscovery鈥� for BCA.
鈥淔rom the jump, we had significantly less budget (and) we weren鈥檛 going to be able to reach the same level of polish as last year鈥檚 Spring Weekend,鈥� they said. 鈥淚 think it was really easy to get disheartened.鈥�
Yang added that labor-related costs for event staff and emergency medical services 鈥� which the Undergraduate Financial Board had covered in prior years 鈥� added further stress to BCA鈥檚 finances on top of the already limited budget. Because these costs were not something BCA previously had to consider, most of the funds to cover them had to be taken out of the budget set aside for booking artists.
鈥淯nfortunately, that鈥檚 kind of the only area where we can truly afford to be flexible,鈥� Yang said, referring to the budget for artists. 鈥淲e鈥檙e unable to sacrifice anything when it comes to production, security (or) any of the things that are keeping the festival safe and running adequately.鈥�
Several students suggested that the money would have been better spent on a smaller, more recognizable lineup.
鈥淚 think the easiest solution would be to spend the budget on fewer, more popular artists, even if they can鈥檛 personally tailor to everyone鈥檚 music taste,鈥� Gold wrote.
鈥淒espite less funding than years past, the BCA should have hired one exceptional headliner and left the other spots reserved for Brown student bands or Providence-based performing groups,鈥� Daniel Solomon 鈥�26 wrote in an email to The Herald.
鈥淚 do not believe the lineup reflects what Brown students envision in their Spring Weekend,鈥� Solomon wrote, additionally criticizing BCA for making the event a 鈥減artisan affair,鈥� pointing to its branding and the context of the ongoing war in Israel and Palestine.
Others expressed approval of BCA or questioned the notion that students should vote for artists.
鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 be as easy as saying, 鈥楤CA needs to give us how much money they have, and then give us a list of people and then we all vote on those people,鈥欌�� Will Havens 鈥�25 said. 鈥淎s nice as it sounds, I think voting on this would kind of be impossible.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e doing their best with what they have,鈥� Cara Hutton 鈥�26 said. 鈥淭hey all want to give people a good experience.鈥�
鈥淥verall, I think it鈥檚 maybe a less popular lineup compared to last year, but I think the lineup is strong and people are gonna have a great time and find new artists,鈥� JD Gorman 鈥�26 wrote in a message to The Herald.
Wang and Yang both acknowledged that the secrecy of BCA鈥檚 selection process can be frustrating for students and said that the organization has been working to be more 鈥渁pproachable鈥� and 鈥減ublic-facing鈥�.
鈥淲e now have a communications team, which we feel will be a lot more helpful at connecting us with people on campus,鈥� Yang said. She added that BCA sent out a Google form for artist suggestions this year, and plans to host town halls and other events in the future to gauge student interests.
Despite these setbacks, BCA remains hopeful for the prospects of this year鈥檚 festival.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited for (the artists) coming this year and the show that they鈥檙e gonna put on,鈥� Yang said.
Some students are also optimistic about this year鈥檚 performance.
鈥淐ertain people kind of went into learning about the lineup with a specific idea in mind, (and) I think that people should just try to be open about it,鈥� Zaivion Hampden 鈥�27 said, discussing the controversy surrounding the lineup.
鈥淓ven though they might not have been artists 鈥� or the genre you would have wanted, it鈥檚 still worth going,鈥� Hampden said. 鈥淢aybe you鈥檒l like it at the end of the day.鈥�
Editor's note: This article was updated at 10:56 p.m. to reflect that the Brown Concert Agency re-uploaded its Spring Weekend lineup. This article was also updated with additional comments published online by BCA.
Clarification: This was updated to include a more detailed characterization of community feedback to the Student Activities Office regarding the lineup poster.
Campbell Loi, a senior staff writer and copy editor for The Herald, is a junior from Syracuse, NY studying Public Health and International and Public Affairs. Outside of academics, she loves all things music and enjoys performing, arranging, and constantly listening to songs in her free time.
