Live @ Veishea proves to be “giant balancing act” for organizers.

Since the Live @ Veishea lineup was announced, students have been creating a buzz about this year’s performers. From brainstorming to signing contracts, members were able to book major artists without paying the major price.

“The budget is generally set at $100,000 for Live @ Veishea artist fees, but this year we raised it to $140,000 because we had a unique opportunity to book some of the acts,” said George Micalone, director of Student Activities.

The increase in budget secured 12 performances from talented artists, including this year’s headliners Hot Chelle Rae and Jay Sean.

“Veishea has a variety of funding sources as a whole. Entertainment is just a portion of that,” Micalone said. “Ticket sales cover a majority of the artists’ fees.”

The Government of the Student Body and sponsorships also provide a means for funding.

As far as any student tuition contributions, Micalone stated, “Absolutely not.”

BJ Brugman, general co-chairman for Veishea, said the budget also depends, like most things these days, on the economy.

“It fluctuates,” he said.

Brugman recalled having lost tens of thousands of dollars from the entertainment budget just a few years ago.

Last year also proved difficult for Live @ Veishea. Having had to cancel Friday’s performance due to weather, ticket sales for the night were reimbursed.

Micalone added that details, such as weather, are written out in the contracts of each artist during the booking process, which begins in the fall semester. 

Contracts include details such as costs, hotel accommodations and sound and light production, which Live @ Veishea arranges.

“We don’t agree to their terms,” Micalone said. “We offer what we can provide, although sometimes we have to negotiate.”

As for convincing bands to come to the Midwest, Micalone said it is an inconvenient location. The team often reverts to a tactic called routing, a process where they are able to book artists who have other events in locations near Iowa.

Kevin Kirwin and Rachel Owen, entertainment co-chairpersons, assisted with the process from the beginning.

“It’s a giant balancing act,” Kirwin said, as he described the steps from start to finish. “Over the summer, the executive staff committees were doing things over email. We were certainly throwing [ideas] out by August.”

The pair begin the process by gathering student input. A concert committee was formed from a diverse set of students, ranging from freshman to super-seniors, who get a feel for what students on campus are interested in. From there, the team creates a wish list from which Micalone begins contacting potential artists.

Micalone, who initially began working in campus programming and advises the Student Union Board in addition to Veishea, has had more than a decade of experience and offers extended connections in the entertainment industry.

“My relationship [with the agencies] allows us to make very informed and educated decisions,” Micalone said.

Making an informed decision about musical choices for thousands of ISU students can be a tricky task.

“Music is a very subjective thing, it’s not going to be possible to please everyone,” Owen said. “We want to have a lot of students, but also be diverse in our approach — we want to be well rounded in our musical choices.”

Kirwin and Owen said they and their team, whom they give an enormous amount of credit to, strategically go about ordering the artist lineup.

“We try to make the lineup make sense musically,” Kirwin said.

Friday will contain mainly rock-based artists. Country music and R&B are set to perform Saturday.

This strategy appears to be working.

Michael Kilworth, a Live @ Veishea attendee and senior in kinesiology and health, said, “I like the diversification. I think it’s one thing that makes ISU stand out from other colleges.”

Kilworth said he is also looking forward to this year’s headliners, who are selected by the genre of music, price and availability. This year, Owen and Kirwin said they were eager to get pop-rock headliners to build supporting acts around.

“I think that a lot of artists are attracted to playing at college shows, so that’s one thing that benefits us,” Owen said.

This certainly helps when trying to book multiple bands. The $140,000 budget is lower than what some artists, like Drake, the rumored artist attending this year, ask for in one show.

“It’s all based on what’s affordable, what’s available and what’s relevant,” Micalone said.