During the years, the frequency of live acts, funding and venue availability have lost their dominant presence on campuses throughout Ohio — and Ohio University is no exception, which has some local music lovers up in arms.
During the 1960s and ’70s the OU Campus Involvement Center’s Performing Arts Series brought in more than nine bands a year, including Bruce
Springsteen, Boston, Bob Hope and Steve Martin in 1977; and Santana, Billy Preston and The Eagles in 1973.
Within recent years, the frequency of musical performances has fallen, totalling an average of four to five musical acts a year including the most recent acts of Mike Posner in 2011, and Wiz Khalifa and Big K.R.I.T in 2012.
“When I came here in ’67, there was something big every weekend,” said Jonathan Holmberg, a bartender at Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, 24 W. State St., and 1984 OU alumnus. “I don’t really know what happened. ... I’m surprised that the students these days aren’t bored out of their minds.”
Andrew Holzaepfel, associate director of OU’s Campus Involvement Center and an OU alumnus, said the high frequency of acts in the past was due to their affordability.
“Acts were just more affordable back then,” Holzaepfel said. “We don’t have the type of money that other colleges like OSU have, and we have less venues than we had before.”
Holmberg argues that OU has recently started to lose its musical touch compared with the past and with other public universities such as Ohio State University, Kent State University and Miami University.
“At one point, Bowling Green was having better concerts and parties than we were,” Holmberg said. “I mean, even now, Mountain Stage is a big deal. It’s a direct influence on the university saying that they will not emphasize the party scene at OU.”
According to university documents, OSU has averaged about eight musical concerts a year. In 2010, those included Drake, the Black Eyed Peas, Kings of Leon, Justin Bieber and Jay-Z.
Kent State has continued to bring in six acts a year, with recent acts including Bruno Mars, Neil Young, Mike Posner, Machine Gun Kelly and Lupe Fiasco. Miami, meanwhile, struggles to bring in two national performers a year including this year’s act, The Fray.
But Katie Wilson, the senior director of Student Engagement and Leadership at Miami University, said Oxford’s Brick Street Bar fills the musical void that the school would otherwise face.
“Through (Miami University), we have to have at least one big show a year, like Kid Cudi last year and The Fray this year,” Wilson said. “Yet, we do have a lot of great acts come in through the Brick Street Bar, and the students just love it.”
Upcoming acts at Brick Street, which is not affiliated with Miami, include two to three acts a month, such as Yelawolf and Gavin DeGraw.
Miami pays for its on-campus acts in the same way OU does: ticket sales. Miami’s Student Concert Board organizes events with a small budget supported by general fees and ticket sales, said Blake Johnston, the board’s president.
“We just want to find an artist that represents what the students would be interested in, something that has appeal,” Johnston said. “Sometimes that can be more difficult because of our location and the fact we only have one venue (Millet Hall) to host the concerts.”
Mike Morelli, Kent State University’s performing arts general manager, said the school tends to be more diverse than the other Ohio colleges because of its smaller population and funds.
“We’re a bit different,” Morelli said. “However, we bring in some big name acts.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, OSU sits comfortably on the funds provided, charging each of its 64,429 students $25 — totaling close to $1.7 million. The Ohio Union Activities Board receives 52 percent — or $873, 577 — of that amount for special events on the campus.
This enables the university to cover fees between $16,000 and $60,000 per show. Tickets to all of the events are free for OSU students, as opposed to about $25 to $35 for events on OU’s campus.
“We get a portion of the student-activity fee,” said Mia Grube, the Ohio Union Activities Board’s director of operations. “We try to create concerts for different types of people.”
Ken Connely, an OSU student who performs as DJ Hypocrisy, said he is proud of the music scene in the Central Ohio city and the opportunities that the college provides for the student body.
“But Columbus is definitely a booming town, and there is a lot of pride in the music scene here,” Connely said.
Brady Ratcliffe, an OU sophomore studying psychology and a member of the Marching 110 drum line, said the Athens scene is of a similar stature.
“Athens is really musically diverse,” Ratcliffe said. “Locally, there is always some type of music for someone somewhere. But you have to be willing to find it.”
Holmberg’s co-worker, Junebug, the booking agent at Jackie O’s, agrees with Radcliffe, saying that, despite other universities’ music scenes, Athens’ music world is on the rise.
“I don’t think there is a shortage of bands or events,” Junebug said. “I’ve been a part of the music scene for 20 years now, and our bands have a good local following and are more up-and-coming.”
No matter which campus provides the most musical entertainment, Ohio University maintains its party-school reputation.
“We are the No. 1 party school, and I take pride in that,” Holmberg said. “The fact that we can still get a degree and party should be applauded. The rest, including better music, will come later.”
Tim Peacock, the booking director of Stuart’s Opera House, the Nelsonville Music Festival and Casa Nueva said the Athens music scene is dwindling because of a lack of funds. Peacock based that idea on his knowledge of past shows he saw through posters and memorabilia of the university.
“I personally feel like the live music scene is at a low point compared to what it has been in the past,” Peacock said. “... As a musician and one who likes real music, there seems to be fewer options out there.”
lf328610@ohiou.edu
