Sonic Youth -- an underground punk-rock band -- will headline this year's Spring Fling concert, Social Planning and Events Committee officials announced yesterday.
Lesser-known solo artists Citizen Cope and Cat Power will open for the band.
SPEC Concert directors say they are going for "a whole new feel" this year, as opposed to the hip-hop artists that have performed in the past few years.
"We wanted a band that had a more intimate appeal rather than some kind of big stadium rock show," said College senior and co-director of SPEC Concerts Ashley Wolff.
The concert will be held at Wynn Commons, which has the capacity to hold 2,500 people, instead of Franklin Field, where last year's concert took place.
Although the directors say they are extremely excited about the upcoming concert, the news has generated mixed reactions from the rest of the Penn community.
"Who are they?" College freshman Elizabeth Jefferson asked. "I've never heard of them."
Wharton junior Lloyd Thomas said he feels "disappointed," especially considering what some other schools have performing this year.
For example, Snoop Dogg will be headlining Cornell's Slope Day concert and Ben Folds will be playing at Brown's Spring Weekend.
"I think we deserve a bigger name," Thomas said.
SPEC Concert directors, who are working with a budget of approximately $70,000 for booking talent alone, also offered bids to The Shins and Ryan Adams which were not accepted.
College sophomore Sheila Houser said that "it's great that the University is reaching out to bands that not many people have heard of," while noting that "twenty bucks is a lot to pay for a couple of bands that I don't really know that much about."
College senior Jacqueline Bodley has been a fan of Sonic Youth since the eighth grade.
"I think it's a nice change and I'm definitely going to enjoy it," she said of the band choice.
Yet even fans of the artists realize that these choices may not appeal to most Penn students.
"I like Sonic Youth myself so I'd like to see that [but] I don't see them drawing too big of a crowd," Engineering freshman Nick Drake said.
But College senior and SPEC Concerts co-director Tom Kurland is anticipating a good response.
"I don't care if people haven't heard of the bands," Kurland said.
"We're really excited because we think this show presents something different and is a unique experience ... we're confident that the event will sell out."
Tickets to the concert, which go on sale April 4, will be sold for $20 on Locust Walk and $25 at the door.
