TCU ended its grand 150th sesquicentennial celebration with a homecoming concert that drew thousands to the heart of the campus.
As the sun dipped below the horizon and the campus came alive with the glow of twinkling fairy lights, the TCU Campus Commons transformed into an open-air concert venue.
The stage was set for a musical performance to keep the the audience dancing and singing throughout the night.
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The preparation
The celebration concert started coming together close to six months ago, Joe Winick, student body president, said.
There is a chance the student body committee started working on the concert preparation before the SGA elections ended this past spring, Winick said.
With 2023 being TCU’s sesquicentennial celebration, the university wanted to ensure that everything this year was bigger and better, so the planning period was longer than in previous years, Dominic Mendlik, student body vice president said.
The funding
This year was expected to have more alumni and community members in attendance than in past years, which takes more preparation and money.
The SGA allocated $220,000 for the concert, according to the SGA 2023-2024 Budget report.
In the past years, SGA was the sole funder for the concert, however, Winick said this year the university got additional funding from alumni and the community.
The money came from three prongs: SGA, University Advancement and the sesquicentennial planning committee, Winick said.
“I can say confidently that SGA contributed a minority of the funds to this concert, whereas in the past it was almost exclusively by the student government,” Mendlik said.
Winick said about 50%-60% of the budget goes to the artist and the agency that helps find the performer.
“The rest of the budget is all-encompassing, including EMS, the stage setup, security and stadium employees, which really makes the concert go,” he added.
The talent
Student input was a big emphasis and concern for choosing the talent this year, Winick said.
SGA polled every student on campus to pick a music genre and an option to write in an artist of their choosing for the 2023 fall concert last spring during finals week, Winick said.
“Country blew all the other genres out the water,” Winick said.
“Over 1,000 students participated in the poll, which was a pretty good participation during finals week,” Mendlik said.
After the data from the poll clearly showed that TCU students preferred the country genre, SGA handed the information over to the student activity staff who booked the artist, Mendlik said.
SGA did not have complete autonomy over selecting the artist because the university had other organizations contributing funds, Mendlik said.
“We had to balance the intersection of who’s an artist that people younger and older will like to listen to,” Mendlik said.
There was also the search for an artist that would buy into the idea of TCU’s sesquicentennial.
Winick considered Ballerini served the face of the celebration finale.
“We felt, and all the groups that helped decide felt, she would be a good representation of all aspects and all people that are invited to this concert, being students, alumni and the community,” he said.
