Local musical acts Bounce Method and Sam Lachow were announced as the opening performances for Wale during the Spring concert on Saturday, May 5 in Elting Gym.
Henry Lino of Student Association Productions (SAP) said the acts were chosen based on how they would mesh with the overall atmosphere of the Wale show. Potential opening acts were asked to submit three to five minute video clips of themselves performing in a battle of the bands-style contest. Lino said the SAP committee then took a vote to determine which acts would get the opening slot.
Lachow, originally from both Seattle and New York, attended SUNY New Paltz as an undergraduate before transferring to City College of New York. The rapper, songwriter and videographer is currently promoting his new album, Brand New Bike and EP, Avenue Music.
“It just feels great to get the opportunity to perform in front of a student body that’s full of some of my closest friends and supporters,” Lachow said. “We are going to have a blast.”
Bounce Method, an alternative, funk, rock, reggae band from New Paltz is comprised of third-year media management major Luke DiCola (vocals/guitar), fourth-year contemporary music major Guy Piaquadio (bass), third-year jazz performance theory and composition major Matthew Hunter (vocals/guitar) and third-year pre-finance major Jason Greenspan (drums).
Dicola said he anticipates that the band will be playing for a larger crowd than before.
“We’re honored that we were chosen along with our main man Sam Lachow to open the show,” Dicola said. “And we know a lot of friends and family from near and far are coming out to support us and hopefully enjoy the show.”
Lino said Lachow and Bounce Method will play the show for free as opening for a high profile artist like Wale is a great opportunity to gain exposure.
Hip-hop artist Wale was chosen as the headlining act for the concert after the Student Association (SA) sent out a survey to the student body. The results found that other acts including Matt and Kim and Taking Back Sunday placed higher than Wale in the voting.
However, SA Vice President of Programming Laneesha Bacchus said the survey was flawed, allowing students to vote more than once. Bacchus said the board thought the rapper would be a good fit for the campus and went ahead with the booking.
Lino said the time leading up to the concert will be dedicated to ensuring the event runs smoothly. Volunteers will begin setting up on Friday and will continue through Saturday.
Lino said the volunteers for the concert will be around during the show ensuring that everything runs as planned and all students are following the safety precautions outlined in the flyer (i.e. not bringing containers, lighters, alcoholic beverages, etc.).
Tickets are free to all SUNY New Paltz students and it costs $15 for faculty, $20 for non-students prior to the day of the show and $25 for non-students on the day of the show. Tickets are available outside Student Union 100 or SU 428. The doors are set to open at 7:00 p.m. and close 15 minutes after Wale starts performing.