Bringing back the main act

With the Little 500 approaching its 55th year as the "World's Greatest College Weekend," students and administration are preparing for the race and, to some more importantly, the concert.\nThis year, The Roots are joining the ranks of Nelly, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Jackson Five, Pat Boone, Petula Clark and Bob Hope, who all performed as main acts during past Little 500 concerts.\nIndeed the style of the music of the main acts over the years has changed dramatically. Nevertheless the presence of music at the event remains a prominent tradition at the University.\n"It's part of the college tradition of the big weekends," said Dean of Students Richard McKaig. "It's a rounding out of the weekend. It brings more prestige to the weekend."\nThe concert tradition began in 1955, five years after the start of the Little 500, according to "The Little 500," a book by John Schwarb. Bill Armstrong, then executive director of the IU Student Foundation, was looking for a way to keep the thousands of people that came to Bloomington for the weekend in town. With that, the "Little 500 Variety Show" was born. The event was modeled after The Ed Sullivan Show and other popular variety shows of the time.\n"You have boatloads of people coming from ... all over the country," said Jonathan Purvis, director of the IUSF.\nThe variety show brought celebrities including Andy Williams and Connie Francis to IU.\nFive years later in 1960, the Little 500 concert tradition evolved even further. The "Little 500 Extravaganza" was originally intended to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the event, according to Schwarb's book. The event was held the Friday night before the race. The show featured such acts as the Four Lads, the Kingsmen and Chicago.\nAttendance for the weekend peaked in 1964 when Armstrong brought the biggest act of his time to Bloomington. Throughout the history of the Variety Show, Bob Hope appeared on five different occasions during Little 5 weekend, according to Schwarb. His first performance marked the official beginning of a relationship between the race and the concerts.\nThe tradition changed drastically in 1986 when a partnership with MTV brought John Mellencamp to campus. He appeared again in 1988, 1992, and once more in 1999.\n"There were times when the artist appealed to an alumni base as well as a student base," McKaig said. "In more recent years, the concerts appeal more specifically to a college student audience."\nMellencamp's earlier Little 500 concerts took the focus away from the race and placed it on something completely different, Purvis said.\n"People came, not to see the race, but to see John Mellencamp and to party," he said. "Looking back, it was really the world's greatest party weekend."\nBut soon enough things started to get out of control, Purvis said. Out-of-towners would arrive for the weekend, trash the town and then leave. The incidents culminated with the infamous Varsity Villa riots in 1991.\n"That's when the bottom fell out of the race," Purvis said. "We really rethought what we were doing."\nThe Student Foundation already had so much going on that they were not equipped to handle a concert. So the Union Board took over the responsibility of setting up a concert for the Little 500 weekend.\n"They were much better equipped," Purvis said. "It's really become a part of their identity."\nIn recent years, the Union Board has brought acts such as the Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nelly and Guster to campus.\nAnd finally, after a two-year drought, the board has reinstated the tradition. The Roots will perform at the IU Auditorium Thursday night before the race.\n"We don't even want it to get to the point where there's not a show," said Ty Krause, director of concerts for the Union Board. "We want music to be a really pivotal aspect of the weekend."\n"The Roots are just perfect," said Lana Kleyman, director of concerts for the Union Board. "They're so energetic."\nIU students are relieved about the concert's return, especially since many have never had a chance to experience the moment.\n"I thought it was disappointing to come to IU as a freshman and not have a main act for my first Little 500," said sophomore Jackie Gutmann. "I'm excited there's a main act this year."\nFaculty and staff, knowing the significance the weekend holds, are looking forward to the event as well.\n"Little 5 is a big campus spring celebration," Purvis said. "Concerts are a piece of that."\n"It's a part of the college experience," said music professor Andy Hollinden. "It gives (students) a mental bookmark they'll remember for the rest of their lives."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Brad Keist at bkeist@indiana.edu.