Howl announces headliner
Shiny Toy Guns performs at last year’s Howl in the TSC ballroom. This year Mike Posner will headline the Howl.
By: Chris Farnes
senior writer
On Sept. 2 the Student Tradition Activities and Arts Board announced this year’s Howl headlining concert artist, Mike Posner. USU will be paying over $5,000 more to bring Posner to Logan than last year’s entertainment, Shiny Toy Guns, and so non-student prices will increase to help offset the cost.
Non-student ticket prices increase by $4 to $25 in advance and $30 the day of the event, which will be October 25. The cost for students will remain the same at $10 and $15 respectively.
“It’s funny because Dixie State just did a foam dance and they charged $20,” said Jacob Scott, Utah States’ activities director. “When I found that out I thought wow this is a better deal because you’re getting a Mike Posner concert, a dance, novelty acts, free products, all in one so I felt comfortable raising it by just $5.”
Posner is best known for his debut single “Cooler than Me”, which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 2010. His performance in Logan will be the second visit to Utah in a month, with another concert also being held Oct.16 at Utah Valley University.
“I went out on a limb to get someone a bit bigger so we’ve paid a bit more, so I would like to say we’re bringing in a big artist,” Scott said. “We obviously paid more for him than we did last year with Shiny Toy Guns. They were around $15,000 and we are paying just a little over $20,000 for Posner.”
Besides Posner’s concert, students and visitors can expect many of the same entertainment acts as in Howls of years past.
“We are currently working with the dance companies Full Circle and Velocity about coming and performing at the Howl as they have always done. We have contracts with DJ Marcus Wing and then contracts for airbrush tattoos and oxygen bars as well.”
While many of the acts will remain the same, Scott and his planning committee have been making many changes in other aspects for this year’s event, including bringing back activities used in Howls of the past.
“In the 1990’s and early 2000’s they did something called Club Hub, which was a separate, smaller dance located in the Hub,” Scott said. “So that’s something that we haven’t seen in the last couple years that I’m bringing back.”
One activity from previous years that will not feature in this year’s event will be the tarot card readings, or fortune tellings, that were held in the Sky Room. Scott determined that the readings were not popular enough to warrant the spending needed to continue the tradition.
“I didn’t want to do and would rather spend that money on a bigger entertainment and kind of flex my budget in other ways,” Scott said.
Attendees can look forward to some of the contributions of this year’s sponsors, which include Rockstar Energy Drink. Last year’s event was sponsored by Monster Energy Drink, but Scott decided to go with Rockstar after a lackluster showing from Monster at last year’s event.
“Last year Monster had a very basic role in the event with just a couple blow up cans and one tent and handed out some free products,” Scott said. “Rockstar wants to one up everything with putting up tents everywhere and hand out free product in the line to get in to the event, during as well as after the event as their leaving. I know that our partnership with Rockstar this year will be 10 times better than last year’s sponsorship.”
Scott has worked since May to plan this year’s Howl, which is all but planned out and organized.
“I just finished my last contract this last week, so that’s a huge thing off my plate and now that school is back in session it’s time to do all the marketing, posters, ticketing, volunteer meetings and setting up the sound technicians and lighting crews,” he said.
Scott and the other officers expect three to four thousand tickets to be sold in advance and then another thousand or two on Oct. 27. Advanced tickets go on sale today and can be purchased in the USU ticket office and card office.
— Christopherfarnes@aggiemail.usu.edu