For the first time in more than a decade, Fairfield University’s Student Association will be hosting a country concert, featuring the music duo known as Love and Theft.

After hosting Bingo Players last fall and Juicy J last spring, FUSA decided to send out a questionnaire to the student body to find out what genre most students would want to hear.

“This year we had the survey based through OrgSync and we used that based on genre and through that, we started to look at artists,” said FUSA president Alex Cucchi. “Country was the top response.”

An up and coming duo, Love and Theft is made up of Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson. They have been nominated by County Music Television, Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music for a variety of awards including New Artist of the Year and Vocal Duo of the Year. The band opened for Taylor Swift in 2008, and in 2012, their single “Angel Eyes” went platinum.

After determining the genre of music that would appeal most to the student body, FUSA was responsible for finding an artist that would be entertaining, but also fit the budget. The cost of the concert, according to Cucchi, has ranged anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 in the past.

“Love and Theft is on pace with what we’ve paid in the past,” said Chair of Marketing & Public Relations at FUSA, Carrick Higgins ‘15.

“Our goal is to sell tickets at reasonable prices for students. We just try to break even, which is our goal every year,” stated Cucchi. “Love and Theft seemed to be in our price range and they were relatively popular with a couple of big songs so they seemed to work well.”

Since FUSA decided to announce the concert early to keep rumors from spreading, FUSA is hoping to use this extra time to promote the concert. FUSA anticipates their ticket price to be between $25 and $30 for the concert, sold at the Barone Campus Center Info Desk.

Cucchi hopes to promote sales also in the BCC and the Quad, which he believes could lead to a larger turnout.

Whether it’s rap, EDM or even country, FUSA believes they try their best to choose a concert that appeals to all students.

“I think we’ve really listened to a lot of the concerns we’ve had,” said Cucchi. He added, “If it’s not a huge success, it’s something we can learn from.”

Sophomore Alexandra Whitfield said, “I’m not really a fan of country music, but I’ll probably still go.”

Like Whitfield, Laura Salerni ‘17 added that she hasn’t always been a fan of country music, but still hopes to attend the concert.

“I hadn’t heard of Love and Theft before this, but the concerts are always fun so I’d like to go,” said Salerni.

Love and Theft is slated to take the stage at Fairfield on Oct. 18.

 

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