RPC announces concerts

By Diane Ramirez     10/29/09 7:00pm

In celebration of Homecoming Weekend in two weeks, the Rice Program Council announced that students will again be able to attend a live concert, featuring Augustana and The Wild Moccasins, in the Central Quad. The free event, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 14, from 7:30-11 p.m., is organized by the RPC.The Wild Moccasins, who will open at 7:30 p.m., are an indie rock band from Houston with a large local following, RPC President Michelle Kerkstra said. In the past, The Wild Moccasins have played at events like the Westheimer Block Party and at Walter's on Washington, a local music venue in The Heights. They will be followed by the nationally acclaimed rock band Augustana at 9 p.m.

Kerkstra, a Will Rice College senior, said the concert is one of numerous events organized by RPC for Homecoming Week. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, there will be a performance by comedian Eddie Ift in the Grand Hall of the Rice Memorial Center. That Thursday will see Open Mic Night at Willy's Pub, which RPC will organize with the Women's Resource Center and the Egyptian Queens. The fall formal, Esperanza, will be held that Friday.

RPC has been working since the summer to organize the Homecoming concert, Kerkstra said. RPC worked through a booking agent to find a musical group that would appeal to Rice students. Kerkstra said RPC originally planned to hire R&B singer Keri Hilson, but when she declined RPC decided to consider Augustana. After two to three months of deliberation and back-and-forth contracts, Augustana was hired. Kerkstra said the concert will cost an estimated $15,000 to $20,000.

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For several reasons, Kerkstra said the amount RPC is spending on both the Homecoming and Willy Week concerts this year is substantially less than last year's amount.

RPC's budget decreased by 5 percent due to budget cuts mandated by the Office of President David Leebron last year. Because RPC partnered with the Centennial Campaign last year as well, they were able to allocate more money for their budget than they have this year.

Kerkstra said Augustana was selected with these budget constraints in mind.

"Augustana was our best option in terms of popular music, budget and appeal to college students," Kerkstra said.

This is the second year RPC has organized a concert for the student body. Last year, RPC organized concerts by The National and Ben Kweller.

Will Rice sophomore Marie Thompson said she was impressed with last year's Homecoming concert and that she is looking forward to this year's concert.

"I think RPC does a great job of organizing the Homecoming events, especially when it comes to picking music that the students like," Thompson said.

Kerkstra said before last year, RPC had been unable to organize full musical events like these for more than a decade, due to both a lack of funding and major noise complaints from the surrounding community. The complaints were especially significant after the Pink Floyd concert at Rice Stadium in April 1994. Since last year's concerts took place in the afternoon, there were no noise complaints, Kerkstra said.

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