Freaker’s Ball returns to campus, Program Board announces Owl Fest
Owl Fest may be the “biggest and best concert event ever that has happened on campus.”
Big Sean. Max Jackson | Staff Photographer
March 30, 2016
“The Freaker’s Ball as we’ve known it is not happening in April,” Jacob Sherbondy, Program Board director, said.
Freaker’s Ball, Florida Atlantic’s annual hip-hop concert, has featured artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Big Sean in the past. This year, the concert will be moved to October “as it was 40 years ago,” according to Sherbondy.
Dating back to 1976, the event was originally a Halloween party that featured live music, as stated by the director.
Last year, Freaker’s Ball sold out and saw upwards of 3,000 students and guests crowd the Student Union Outdoor Stage as featured artists Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick — as well as headliner Big Sean — performed. The event sold over 3,500 tickets.
Big Sean cost FAU $65,000 to perform, the most expensive of past headliners who have performed at Freaker’s Ball. Previous acts like Kendrick Lamar and B.O.B. each cost $60,000.
Although the concert is being pushed forward six months, students looking forward to an event celebration in April will not be left empty handed. According to Sherbondy, FAU will host Owl Fest: Ultimate Musical Experience, a massive electronic dance music festival, on April 20.
EDM festivals have grown increasingly in number in South Florida in the past few months — including festivals like Ultra, Life in Color and Okeechobee Music and Arts.
“Owl Fest: Ultimate Musical Experience will be the biggest and best concert event ever that has happened on campus, in my opinion,” said Sherbondy.
Owl Fest will be free for students, and tickets will be $10 for the public. The festival will be held on the lawn behind the Student Union; doors will open at 8 p.m.
Tucker Berardi is a staff writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @tucker_berardi.
Olivia • Apr 5, 2016 at 12:06 pm
Will they be advertising this at all? It’s not too far away and this is the first everyone is hearing of it. When will the artist be announced? How can we get tickets?
Dave • Apr 4, 2016 at 5:15 pm
Unfortunately Kate nobody from FAU ever responds to these comments so you may have to ask on campus to get an answer.
Kate • Apr 2, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Is there still a concert for the fall semester bonfire? So either there’s 2 fall concert or this literally just sounds like another way FAU is lowering funds for student activities; it still says Freaker’s Ball in the agenda they give out to all students. This is consistently one of the higher attendance events so cutting this over smaller events over campus with low attendance makes no sense.