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Spring Weekend
Music festival at Brown University

Spring Weekend is an annual student-organized music festival held each April at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Established officially in 1950 and rooted in a 19th-century spring tradition, it features performances by iconic artists such as Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, and U2, alongside recent headliners like Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar. The festival is run by the Brown Concert Agency with support from the university. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, marking its first cancellation since inception.

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History

Junior Promenade

Spring Weekend is rooted in a late 19th century spring tradition at Brown known as Junior Promenade. In 1897, the university's Junior Class Committee met to discuss the possibility of a spring celebration; while originally dismissed, the idea resurfaced the following year and gained approval; the inaugural Junior Promenade was held in 1898. In 1901, the tradition was restructured as Junior Week, adopting a longer and more diverse program of events and student performances.9

Early iterations

Junior Week and Promenade lapsed during World War II and in 1948 were replaced with All-Campus Weekend. Spring Weekend, in turn, succeeded All-Campus Weekend in 1950.10 The inaugural Spring Weekend featured club events, student performances, athletic contests, a buffet, and dances held in Faunce House and fraternity houses.11 In the 1960s, concerts and shows featuring celebrity artists replaced student performances and dances.12 In 1960, students formed the Brown Concert Agency to plan and organize the event. Headliners of the festival in its early years included Bob Dylan (1964) and Ella Fitzgerald (1965). In 1967, the festival featured Peter, Paul and Mary, Ray Charles, and Jefferson Airplane; Martin Luther King Jr., in Providence on other business, preached at the Sunday morning Protestant service held in Sayles Hall.13

The 1968 festival was larger than its predecessors and marked Spring Weekend's transition from a "drunken brawl" into a "classier affair."14 Ira Magaziner, an organizer of the event wrote of the festival "We had James Brown, Dionne Warwick, Procol Harum, the Yardbirds and Dizzy Gillespie; for the poetry crowd we had Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghett... To launch the event, we chartered a small airplane to fly over the college green and dump thousands of colored ping pong balls stamped with WELCOME SPRING WEEKEND."15

1969 headliners included Janis Joplin, who, according to The Brown Daily Herald, "Hunching, jumping, lunging at the microphone, stamping, clawing the air, the Blue-Eyed Soul Sister electrified an audience she huskily called ‘groovy.’”16 Gordon Lightfoot, Smokey Robinson, Carlos Montoya and Herbie Mann also performed.

1970–1999

Noted Spring Weekend acts in the 1970s included Tina Turner (1972) Bruce Springsteen (1974). Guests in the 1980s include U2 (1983), R.E.M. (1985), and Elvis Costello (1987). In 1984, following the passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act and Rhode Island's subsequent raising of the legal drinking age, the university brought off-duty state troopers to campus to perform optional breathalyzer tests.17 In 1991, Spring Weekend ended a longstanding practice of serving alcohol, apparently motivated by cost and potential liability issues.18 Artists featured in the 1990s include Tito Puente and Boogie Down Productions (1991), A Tribe Called Quest (1992), Indigo Girls (1995), Bob Dylan (1997), Sonic Youth (1998), Busta Rhymes and Common (1999).

2000–present

Noted guests in the 2000s include Wyclef Jean (2000), Ben Folds (2005), M.I.A. (2008), Vampire Weekend (2008), and Nas (2009).1920 Headliners in the 2010s included Snoop Dogg (2010), Childish Gambino (2012), Kendrick Lamar (2013), Chance the Rapper (2014), Modest Mouse (2015), Mac DeMarco (2016), Young Thug (2017), and Mitski (2019).212223 In 2013, The Brown Daily Herald and other campus press outlets received an email from a user impersonating the Brown Concert Agency that included a fake lineup of artists including "The Sounds of Capitalism," Toro Y Moi, The Postal Service, and Grouper.24

COVID-19 pandemic

In 2020, the festival was cancelled for the first time since 1950 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brown Concert Agency did not publicly announce which artists were scheduled to perform at the 2020 festival, although an unsubstantiated rumor purported the lineup to include Doja Cat.25 The 2021 festival featuring Phoebe Bridgers and KAYTRANADA was held online.2627

Lineups

1970–1989
YearDatesHeadliners
1970April 24–26
1971April 30–May 2
1972April 28–30
1973May 4–6
1974April 26–28
1975April 25–27
1976April 30–May 20
1977
1978April 28–30
1979April 27–29
1980
1981April 24-27
1982April 30–May 2
1983April 29–May 1
1984April 27–29
1985April 26–28
1986April 18–20
1987April 24–26
1988April 15–17
1989April 28–30
1990–2009
YearDatesHeadliners
1990April 27–29
1991April 26–28
1992April 17–19
1993April 9–11
1994April 22–24
1995April 20–23
1996April 11–14
1997April 17–20
1998April 16–19
1999April 22–2528
2000April 13–16
2001April 19–22
2002April 19–21
2003April 10–13
2004April 22–25
2005April 21–24
2006April 20–23
2007April 19–22
2008April 10–13
2009April 17–19
2010–
YearDatesHeadliners
2010April 22–25
2011April 15–17
201229April 20–22
201330April 18–21
201431April 11–13
201532April 17–19
201633April 14–17
201734April 27–30
201835April 26–29
201936April 26–28
202037Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
20213839April 10
202240April 29–30
202341April 29–30
202442April 21

Notes

References

  1. "Spring Weekend celebrates 67 years of star-studded legacy". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2017/04/spring-weekend-celebrates-67-years-of-star-studded-legacy ↩

  2. "Encyclopedia Brunoniana | Spring Weekend". www.brown.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=S0380 ↩

  3. "The ghosts of Spring Weekends past". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2020/04/the-ghosts-of-spring-weekends-past ↩

  4. "Spring Weekend delivers engaging lineup". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2013/04/spring-weekend-delivers-engaging-lineup ↩

  5. "Spring Weekend celebrates 67 years of star-studded legacy". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2017/04/spring-weekend-celebrates-67-years-of-star-studded-legacy ↩

  6. "Brown Concert Agency announces 2019 Spring Weekend lineup". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2019/03/brown-concert-agency-announces-2019-spring-weekend-lineup ↩

  7. "The ghosts of Spring Weekends past". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2020/04/the-ghosts-of-spring-weekends-past ↩

  8. "The ghosts of Spring Weekends past". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2020/04/the-ghosts-of-spring-weekends-past ↩

  9. "Spring Weekend celebrates 67 years of star-studded legacy". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2017/04/spring-weekend-celebrates-67-years-of-star-studded-legacy ↩

  10. "Spring Weekend celebrates 67 years of star-studded legacy". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2017/04/spring-weekend-celebrates-67-years-of-star-studded-legacy ↩

  11. "Encyclopedia Brunoniana | Spring Weekend". www.brown.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=S0380 ↩

  12. "Spring Weekend celebrates 67 years of star-studded legacy". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2017/04/spring-weekend-celebrates-67-years-of-star-studded-legacy ↩

  13. "Encyclopedia Brunoniana | Spring Weekend". www.brown.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=S0380 ↩

  14. "Spirit of the University". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2009/04/spirit-of-the-university ↩

  15. Eugenides, Jeffrey; Moody, Rick; Lowry, Lois; Robinson, Marilynne; Cheever, Susan (2014-05-20). The Brown Reader: 50 Writers Remember College Hill. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4767-6520-4. 978-1-4767-6520-4 ↩

  16. "Spring Weekend 1969 | Brown University Timeline". https://www.brown.edu/about/history/timeline/spring-weekend-1969 ↩

  17. "The ghosts of Spring Weekends past". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2020/04/the-ghosts-of-spring-weekends-past ↩

  18. "Spring Weekend celebrates 67 years of star-studded legacy". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2017/04/spring-weekend-celebrates-67-years-of-star-studded-legacy ↩

  19. "Sunny, warm Spring Weekend delights". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2009/04/sunny-warm-spring-weekend-delights ↩

  20. "Nas, Of Montreal to headline Spring Weekend". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2009/03/nas-of-montreal-to-headline-spring-weekend ↩

  21. "Spring Weekend to feature Erykah Badu, AlunaGeorge, Young Thug". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2017/03/spring-weekend-to-feature-erykah-badu-alunageorge-young-thug ↩

  22. "Brown Concert Agency announces 2019 Spring Weekend lineup". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2019/03/brown-concert-agency-announces-2019-spring-weekend-lineup ↩

  23. "Fetty Wap, Mac DeMarco to headline Spring Weekend". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2016/03/fetty-wap-mac-demarco-to-headline-spring-weekend ↩

  24. "False Spring Weekend lineup sent to campus press outlets". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2013/02/false-spring-weekend-lineup-sent-to-campus-press-outlets ↩

  25. "The ghosts of Spring Weekends past". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2020/04/the-ghosts-of-spring-weekends-past ↩

  26. "Phoebe Bridgers, KAYTRANADA, KeiyaA to perform at Spring Weekend". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2021/04/phoebe-bridgers-kaytranada-keiyaa-to-perform-at-spring-weekend ↩

  27. "Brown Concert Agency to release Spring Weekend lineup April 3". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2021/03/brown-concert-agency-to-release-spring-weekend-lineup-april-3 ↩

  28. "98-112 (Spring Weekend)". www.brown.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-29. https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/1998-99/98-112.html ↩

  29. "BCA announces Spring Weekend lineup". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2012/03/bca-announces-spring-weekend-lineup ↩

  30. "Spring Weekend delivers engaging lineup". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2013/04/spring-weekend-delivers-engaging-lineup ↩

  31. "Lauryn Hill, Chance the Rapper energize Spring Weekend". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2014/04/lauryn-hill-chance-the-rapper-energize-spring-weekend ↩

  32. "Modest Mouse, Hudson Mohawke to headline Spring Weekend". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2015/03/modest-mouse-hudson-mohawke-to-headline-spring-weekend ↩

  33. "Fetty Wap, Mac DeMarco to headline Spring Weekend". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2016/03/fetty-wap-mac-demarco-to-headline-spring-weekend ↩

  34. "Spring Weekend to feature Erykah Badu, AlunaGeorge, Young Thug". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2017/03/spring-weekend-to-feature-erykah-badu-alunageorge-young-thug ↩

  35. "Anderson .Paak, NAO to headline Spring Weekend". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-23. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2018/03/anderson-paak-nao-to-headline-spring-weekend ↩

  36. "Brown Concert Agency announces 2019 Spring Weekend lineup". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2019/03/brown-concert-agency-announces-2019-spring-weekend-lineup ↩

  37. "The ghosts of Spring Weekends past". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2020/04/the-ghosts-of-spring-weekends-past ↩

  38. "Phoebe Bridgers, KAYTRANADA, KeiyaA to perform at Spring Weekend". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-22. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2021/04/phoebe-bridgers-kaytranada-keiyaa-to-perform-at-spring-weekend ↩

  39. Held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic /wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Rhode_Island ↩

  40. Jagwani, Aalia (March 25, 2022). "Flo Milli, Ari Lennox, Amaarae to take stage at first in-person Spring Weekend in three years". Brown Daily Herald. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/03/flo-milli-ari-lennox-amaarae-to-take-stage-at-first-in-person-spring-weekend-in-three-year ↩

  41. "Remi Wolf, JID, Ethel Cain to perform at Spring Weekend 2023". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-09. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2023/04/remi-wolf-jid-ethel-cain-to-perform-at-spring-weekend-2023 ↩

  42. "Yves Tumor, Jordan Ward, Elyanna, Weston Estate to perform at Spring Weekend 2024". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2024-04-21. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2024/04/yves-tumor-jordan-ward-elyanna-weston-estate-to-perform-at-spring-weekend-2024 ↩