PPC announces Bigelow Bash headliners

This spring, two headlining artists will claim the street and the stage at Bigelow Bash.

On Thursday at 11 p.m., Pitt Program Council announced Bigelow Bash, the annual outdoor spring concert, will feature two headliners  — X Ambassadors, an alternative rock band, and B.o.B., a hip hop artist — in hopes of connecting with more Pitt students. In addition to the music, there will be food trucks and other activities at the event.

Last year, the event featured American Authors, an American rock band. The annual concert is in the early afternoon on Saturday, April 16, and Shawn Cassidy, special events director, said PPC has not determined the exact time.

Cassidy said PPC decided to cancel the annual indoor spring show, which featured Lupe Fiasco last year. Cassidy said the cancellation of the indoor show did not influence the decision to have two headliners at Bigelow Bash.

Cassidy said PPC had several reasons to cancel the indoor spring show but did not disclose the reasons. According to Cassidy, the decision to hold an indoor concert next year is up to that year’s executive board.

In the time leading up to Bigelow Bash, PPC is still working on finalizing the details, including which food trucks and activities will be available to students. Cassidy said PPC has also not decided if there will be an opening act other than the winner of PPC’s Battle of the Bands, which PPC will host March 31.

Cassidy, a senior finance major, said the two headliners will offer the audience a range of genres that can appeal to everyone.

X Ambassadors, famous for songs such as “Renegade,” “Jungle” and “Unconsolable,” released its debut album, “VHS,” in June 2015. The band is currently on tour for its album.

B.o.B., who began performing in 2006, is most known for his singles “Nothin’ on You,” “Airplanes” and “Magic.” He released his fourth album, “Psycadelik Thoughtz,” in December 2015. He is currently working on a compilation album.

Cassidy said he could not disclose the cost of the performers because of contractual obligations, but said both performers would have the same amount of time on stage.

“We wanted to reach a wider audience,” Cassidy said. “We’re trying to have something for every student on campus.”

Based on student attendance at Fall Fest in October and last year’s Bigelow Bash, Cassidy said PPC expects about 6,000 people to attend.

Although the concert overlaps with Relay for Life, an annual event raising money and awareness for cancer research, Cassidy said he does not think it will affect attendance for either event.

“I feel that plenty of students are going to come out. It was not planned with the intent of disrupting Relay for Life,” Cassidy said.

Although Coachella, an annual music and arts festival in California, is the same weekend, Cassidy said PPC did not have any trouble securing the artists.

“A lot goes into these decisions,” Cassidy said. “[My committee and I] work for months thinking of names and who students want to see.”

Although PPC usually announces the headliners on Twitter, it chose to use Snapchat and its new texting service this year, giving students three clues to increase anticipation and promote its new social and outreach platforms.

According to Zach Linn, advertising director, PPC started the texting service in January.

Currently, 200 people are signed up for the text alerts.

Linn said the service is similar to Campus Connect, and PPC has only sent about five messages since it began.

According to Cassidy, PPC will continue promoting Bigelow Bash on social media, but he wanted to keep the specifics “under wraps.”

“Hopefully [we have] fun marketing plans,” Cassidy said. “We always want to come up with new ideas and expand on what we did in the past.”