The electronic dance music scene is returning to Gainesville on April 9 with the second local performance from Krewella.
The concert was originally scheduled to be held on Flavet Field at UF, but plans were changed at the request of the university.
Instead, Krewella will be playing outside in the parking lot of Level, the downtown nightclub at 238 W. University Ave.
“For some reason, the school preferred to have a third party do it outside of the realm of the campus,” said Casey Cummings, director of Showtim3, a promotional company from South Florida that is helping host the event. “I don’t think the campus is quite ready for the huge EDM acts yet.”
UF spokesman Steve Orlando said the promotional company didn’t get authorization from the university to host the concert on campus.
He said there were two problems, but neither of them had to do with the genre of music.
“We don’t allow companies — nonstudent groups — to have concerts in Flavet Field,” he said.
Another problem was that the company wanted to have the concert during the week, which the university also does not allow, Orlando said.
After much discussion about the venue, Showtim3 was able to obtain city permits to host the concert in an outside venue.
The outdoor venue will make the concert feel more like a festival instead of just a club, Cummings said. The event starts at 6 p.m., and the show starts at about 8.
The tickets are available online at eventbrite.com and cost $25 for general admission and $40 for VIP.
On Friday, the price of general admission will go up to $30 and VIP to $45.
The group will be stopping in Gainesville for its show in April as part of Karmaloop & EMUZE’s Verge Campus Spring Tour 2014, which is hitting 12 states, 22 cities and 27 colleges in 30 days, according to the tour’s website.
This will be the third time Sydnie Kennedy, a 20-year-old UF advertising sophomore, sees Krewella perform live. She said she’s excited about the venue choice.
“I think it’s going to be a really cool environment,” Kennedy said. “More people are going to be able to come out, and it’ll just be like one big party.”
Krewella last played in Gainesville a little more than a year ago.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 3/26/2014 under the headline "Krewella show moved from campus to downtown parking lot"]
