The sounds of The Whigs and Citizen Cope will echo from Flavet Field on Saturday night as the bands kick off the grand opening of the field's new Bandshell.
The field, on Woodland Drive between Stadium and Museum roads on campus, will reopen its performance area after making necessary safety regulation improvements.
The Whigs, currently on tour with Kings of Leon, will open for Citizen Cope at 7 p.m., and the show will go on until 10 p.m. The concert, which is free for students and the Gainesville community, is expected to entertain a crowd of about 3,000.
Student Government Productions is expecting costs of about $60,000 to $70,000, a number that significantly decreased after determining the bandshell would reopen in time.
"We really lucked out because the Bandshell was completed," said Aaron Crespin, SGP chairman. "We didn't have to provide temporary staging and we were able to cut costs."
Citizen Cope, who is set to release an album in February 2010, is known for his raspy voice and soothing mix of jazz, R&B and hip-hop-a sound completely different from The Whigs' garage band, punk-rock sound.
"We are expecting a very diverse, very exciting crowd," said Jennifer Lettman, SGP spokeswoman.
To select the bands, SGP Chairman Aaron Crespin said the organization placed polls and questionnaires on its Facebook group asking members which bands they would like to see.
"We try to put on as many and as diverse events as possible," said Crespin. "The indie/alternative rock selection is hitting a certain genre."
SGP spent the week promoting the concert on campus in the Turlington area and the Plaza of the Americas, as well as at local venues such as Mother's Pub & Grill and The Swamp Restaurant. It will continue promoting the event tonight at 2nd Street Speakeasy and Friday at Skyy.
"Everyone heard their music on their iPods and on the radio," said Melanie Lyon, SGP administrative assistant. "It's going to be really cool to see them in concert."
