In mid-August, a simple 140-character statement from University Union got students excited. The tweet contained news about the Juice Jam lineup and did not disappoint.

“I’m ready for this year’s Juice Jam,” said Erin Bridges, a junior social work major. “It should be fun and entertaining. This is like the first big school event and you get to hang out and hear some great music.”

UU announced six acts and a two-stage festival style concert. It triggered a positive response from students and resulted in 9,500 tickets being sold, making it the highest-selling Juice Jam to date.

Bridges, who is most looking forward to seeing The Neighbourhood and Kendrick Lamar, said UU made a smart decision adding a second stage to the event.

“It’s a good way to make people happy and bring a wide range of music to the school,” she said. “There is something for everyone to listen to, so I think that’s a good thing.”

The festival is taking place at Skytop Field on South Campus, per usual, but to make room for the second stage, UU is disposing of the student activities fair. This didn’t seem to bother Luke Mazur, a sophomore economics major, who said he is attending the concert merely for the carefree, outdoor environment.

“I’m really going to just hang out with my friends,” he said. “It’s still early in the semester before you really do a lot of work, so it is good to just go and have a good time. I went last year so I’m going looking forward to this year, too.”

Even though the festival hasn’t happened yet, Mazur had a suggestion to improve next year’s Juice Jam. He proposed that there should be two separate headliners who perform at different times — possibly even on different stages.

Similar to Mazur, Rachael D’Addezio, a junior graphic design major, is going for the camaraderie and also to see friends she hasn’t seen yet this semester.

“You get to just see everyone who you missed over the summer,” she said. “The fun atmosphere is really why I’m going; I’m not really interested in the artists that are coming.”

Others are going to see specific artists. Performing on the main stage are Kendrick Lamar, Nicky Romero and The Neighbourhood. Artists on the indie stage are Robert DeLong, Ab-Soul and Smallpools.

Billy Ceskavich, the president of UU and senior information management & technology and political science double major, said in an email that planning and coordinating the multiple acts — and the two stages — was something his team had to start early. But they ran with the idea as soon as it seemed possible.

“We’ve worked hard throughout the past few months to coordinate the logistics for multiple stages with various SU staff. It was worth the extra work,” Ceskavich said. “We first developed the idea through a brainstorming session and quickly found it both feasible and in line with growing student interest.”

Like any concert, there are some students who aren’t going to go. Some students weren’t impressed by the lineup, while others have already seen some of the performers. But the event still managed to sell out.

“I’ve never been to Juice Jam, but I’ll go next year, my senior year,” said Danielle Jimenez, a junior communications and rhetorical studies major. “And hopefully [UU] will bring someone good, someone I want to see. All the good artists performed before I came to SU.”

Then, of course, there are the diehards who will attend the outdoor concert rain or shine. As of Wednesday night, there was a chance for rain during the day on Sunday.

Said Anibal Oller, junior information management & technology major: “I don’t care if it rains. If Kendrick Lamar will be there, I’ll be there.”

Published on September 4, 2013 at 11:22 pm

Contact Lauren: ljporter@syr.edu