The Student Activities Council (SAC) decided to keep the headline performers for this year’s Bluff City Bash a mystery, intending to keep students on the edge of their seats and encourage them to discover the headliners by attending the event Nov 1.
Brennan Sanderfer, a junior at the University of Memphis and member of SAC, said the annual event will be held at the Liberty Bowl with a host of different artists.
“The fact that students can come take a load off and have a really rowdy and fun time together is great for the campus community,” Sanderfer said.
Sanderfer said he is unsure how College GameDay will affect attendance for the concert.
“We’re hoping that it aids in attendance and makes people want to go out, but of course there’s going to be a lot of people who know they’re getting up early for GameDay,” Sanderfer said.
Sanderfer said he hopes students realize this coming weekend is all about them.
“We get to go to a big event Friday night and have a good time,” Sanderferd said. “The next morning, we can go to Beale Street and have our city put on the map on a national level – it’s going to be a great homecoming.”
Sanderfer declined to release the names of the performers but did give reasoning behind his discretion. Sanderfer also said some people at SAC chose not to know to avoid the burden of keeping it a secret.
“Having the suspense keeps people on their toes,” Sanderfer said. “Although it does irritate people, we find they want to know and therefore go regardless – it’s a tradition that we try to uphold.”
Lily Afshar, a music professor at the UofM, said named artists are typically released almost a year in advance for most music events. Afshar also said SAC’s decision to withhold the names must be due to a desired element of surprise for students.
Zach Cunningham, a freshman at the UofM, said keeping the performers a secret could bring in more students.
“It could possibly be bad, but I feel like we could do well because we are the University of Memphis,” Cunningham said.
Austin Melton, a senior at the UofM, said SAC’s decision keeps the event interesting for students who plan on attending.
“It definitely interests me but based on SAC’s track record it shouldn’t matter,” Melton said. “I trust there will be a decent amount of people in attendance.”
This year’s Bluff City Bash will be held Friday Nov 1. from 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at the Liberty Bowl. Shuttle buses will be used to offer transportation to and from the stadium.
