With an eventful week of orientation events having come to a close, freshmen accustomed to daily entertainment might soon find themselves asking: What next?
An answer will come with this Saturday's Fall Fest, Tufts' traditional September concert, when hip-hoppers the Beatnuts, rapper GZA, and little-known funk rockers Deep Banana Blackout take the stage on the Residential Quad.
Tufts Community Union President Eric Greenberg organized the event this summer with a budget of about $20,000. Funding was provided in part by the President's Office, the Dean of Students' Office, Tufts Student Resources, and other student groups.
Greenberg said he expects a large turnout at Fall Fest. "I can't wait. It's the 150th anniversary year, and people want to go out for these things now," he said. "People are pumped up in general about going to Tufts events and hopefully that will continue with Fall Fest and throughout the year."
The Beatnuts are the headlining act and will perform last. The group's two primary performers, Psycho Les and Junkyard Ju Ju, met in the early '80s in Queens, New York and performed together as hip-hop rappers-come-DJs. They released their first EP in 1993, and have since produced three full-length albums. Take It Or Squeeze, their most recent album, was praised by critics after it hit the racks this past spring.
GZA - known to many as Genius - is one of the founding members of the hip-hop group Wu Tang Clan. A New York City native, GZA has released a number of solo albums, but continues to work with Wu Tang as it nears its tenth year of performing.
Deep Banana Blackout, which will open the show at 2 p.m., performs a funk rock that, thanks to the group's size, roars with an improvisational complexity and volume not often experienced with such bands. Its latest album, Feel the Peel, was released last month.
TCU Vice President Melissa Carson and Treasurer Ben Lee were instrumental in finding and signing the bands, a process that included courting the groups, discussing financial arrangements, and having each group sign a contract.
"It comes down to who's on tour and who's available," Greenberg said.
As always, vendors will fill the Quad, tempting Fest-goers with their wares. But a college fest in downtown Boston has left most of the event's traditional vendors with commitments elsewhere. For Fall Fest, organizers solicited a handful of alternate organizations to man the tables. The Indian restaurant Diva from nearby Davis Square will be offering free food, along with various student groups, the UCCPS, and Brown and Brew.
Fall Fest is free of charge to Tufts students. Students must bring a Tufts ID to enter.
