Piano-rocker Ben Folds will play on Thursday at the Bank of America City Center in downtown Providence, in a concert put on by WBRU with support from the Brown Concert Agency.
BCA is selling discount tickets at $20 each to Brown students in Faunce House from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Wednesday. Any tickets purchased on Thursday will cost $25.
The concert, which is part of the WBRU Dunkin' Donuts Concert Series, begins at 6 p.m., and doors will be opened at 5 p.m. Singer-songwriter Missy Higgins is also performing at the facility, which functions as an ice skating rink during the winter.
"We want to make students aware that there's great music off campus too," BCA Booking Chair Daniel Ain '09 said. BCA's primary role in organizing this concert is publicity on the Brown campus, he added.
Traditionally, BCA is in charge of organizing various events held at Brown including the main Spring Weekend concerts. In the past, it has co-sponsored a few concerts with Lupo's, selling a few hundred tickets to Brown students in advance. However, this is the first time BCA has worked directly with WBRU.
WBRU General Manager Jon Zucker '09 decided that working with BCA would be an effective way for the station to interact more with Brown students on campus. Although WBRU is run mostly by students, it operates independently of the University.
"We're excited to get more involved with Brown," Zucker said. He added that he would like the station to build a stronger relationship with the Brown campus.
According to Zucker, WBRU decided to work with BCA on this particular concert because it will take place next to Kennedy Plaza, which is relatively close to campus. WBRU usually sponsors concerts held over the summer, or concerts at venues farther from campus, making it harder for Brown students to attend, he said.
Both Ain and Zucker were enthusiastic about the two student groups working together to put on the concert. "It seems to me like it would be beneficial for both groups," Zucker said. Ain said he agrees and feels that BCA and WBRU are at the beginning of a good relationship.
Ain said that BCA's involvement with this concert will not change their plans to have other on-campus concerts this fall. While BCA is still in the process of planning the fall concert schedule, the agency hopes to announce an upcoming on-campus concert within the next month.
