An evening of musical festivities will precede the official inauguration ceremonies for Penn's eighth president, Amy Gutmann, in mid-October.
The University is currently negotiating with the hip-hop group The Roots and the acoustic rock sextet Pat McGee Band to have them perform on Hill Field on Wednesday, Oct. 13, according to University officials. Although the contracts have not been finalized, the concert date does appear on the Pat McGee Band's official Web site and University officials seem confident that these bands will be performing.
"On Wednesday night we are having a pure fun event," Gutmann said. "I've now become a fan of The Roots."
The event will be free to the entire Penn community.
The concert is an appropriate prelude to the intellectual side of the inauguration the symposium entitled "Rising to the Challenges of a Diverse Democracy" as The Roots is known for being politically conscious.
The Philadelphia-based group has had prior experience entertaining the Penn community with its 1995 and 2000 Spring Fling performances. Nationally, The Roots' popularity has increased in recent years and their reputation has been solidified with the recent release of their latest album, The Tipping Point, which was received with critical acclaim nationwide.
Many of those on campus who have heard of the scheduled event are excited.
"I would go to The Roots concert," Wharton sophomore Myron Robinson said. "The Roots were a good choice on [the president's] part."
In Robinson's opinion, Gutmann "is trying to project a cool, hip image. ... I think she is trying to warm up to the students, almost making it seem that she could be one of us."
Robinson was jokingly skeptical of Gutmann's claim of being a fan, saying that he would want to see if the president could name a track from any of The Roots' CDs.
Details remain hazy as the contracts have not been finalized the Web site for Pat McGee Band lists the location as Wynn Commons. Similarly, some students have seen the concert date posted on The Roots Web site, but at the time of publication it was absent from their upcoming events section.
"I am actually from Philly so I love The Roots. I think they are an amazing group musically," College freshman Lee Jacobs said. "They are also pretty politically conscious. I remember earlier in the year, one of their opening concerts for their new album that they just released, The Tipping Point. One of the requirements to get into the concert was you [had to be] a registered voter."
Jacobs jokingly added that if the new Penn president is a fan of The Roots, "she is cool with me."
