Country band Emerson Drive, with hit songs like “I Should be Sleeping” and “Fall Into Me,” will perform tonight for this year’s spring concert sponsored by the University Board.

“They put on a great show,” said UB concert coordinator Mallory Taylor.

The opening act for Emerson Drive will feature Ryan Shupe and The Rubberband, who were recommended by an agency that UB works with.

Taylor and a few others saw Emerson Drive last year at the National Association for Campus Activities.

“They’re a solid, up-and-coming band,” said UB adviser Ceci Brinker.

Emerson Drive is a new band to the country scene making them not as well known as other groups, but UB is not too worried.

“It’s a little bit of a concern,” she said.”(But,) country acts have done well in the past.”

Many students would like to see more popular groups at Eastern, but Brinker said that two things factor into why Eastern cannot get bigger bands.

“The key thing is the availability and the cost,” she said.

Emerson Drive and the opening act will cost about $15,000, which is within UB’s budget.

“We are getting them on the ground floor (before they are huge),” Brinker said about the bands.

UB’s budget does not allow it to get bigger groups and because of that, bands will go to universities that offer the most money, said Brinker.

“The bigger the name the higher the cost,” she said. “The acts (at other universities) might be a six-figure act.”

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, for instance, does not have a set concert budget but rather a performance budget.

“Last year (UIUC) had over $3.5 million in performance fees,” said Kevin Ullestad, director of UIUC Assembly Hall.

The performance fees covered concerts and other acts that included circuses, Sesame Street and musicals.

As for availability, UB only gets a limited number of days to hold concerts at Lantz Arena.

“We only get three or four main concert dates,” Brinker said.

She also said that Lantz Arena cannot accommodate the amount of equipment a major artist travels uses in a show.

However, some students think that Eastern has booked more well-known groups in the past and should continue.

“Eastern has proved that they can get bigger acts,” said Kaleigh McRoberts, freshman undecided major. “They got Yellow Card and Something Corporate.”

McRoberts has seen other groups at Eastern that include Guster and Everclear.

She said almost all of these concerts were about full.

Besides Eastern concerts, McRoberts has also seen many concerts at other surrounding universities.

“(Other schools) tickets cost more, but I am willing to pay for a bigger group,” she said.

Although some students might prefer larger names, the UB is happy with their music selection.

“We are pretty confident they will do (well),” Taylor said.

Nick Scarpetta, a sophomore marketing major, advertises Emerson Drive by wearing a sandwich board and plays their music while walking around campus Thursday afternoon. Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News

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