By: Alex Willis
After a year off of having no Hillside concert it is finally coming back. Many students may not even know what Hillside is. It’s BU’s spring concert hosted by Bellarmine Activities Council (BAC).
“The concert is meant to be a fun stress reliever for everyone before the hectic finals week begins. It’s also a way to end the academic year with something really cool and inclusive for the whole campus and community,” said Dalila Bevab, Bellarmine Activities Council Member for the Hillside Committee.
In 1968, The Grateful Dead was one of the first bands to perform at Bellarmine. Although it wasn’t called Hillside at the time, it started a tradition that was enjoyed for years.
Since then Hillside has had some pretty big name bands and artists. Some of the most known include Jimmy Buffett (1975), Rusted Root (1997), Bowling for Soup (2005), 21 Pilots (2014), Elle King (2016), and Jesse McCartney (2017).
Elisabeth DiChiara, a senior Exercise Science major, went to her first and only Hillside concert in 2017 to see Jesse McCartney. Even though it was the only one she had ever been to she loved it.
DiChiara said one of the reasons she enjoyed Hillside so much was because she “got to be so close to a popular and great performer especially one that I grew up listening to.” She also enjoyed sharing the experience with her Bellarmine friends and community.
The only downside to DiChiara’s experience was the bad weather and she wished there was a backup plan so she didn’t have to stand in the rain.
Some students haven’t gone in the past due to acts they didn’t find interesting.
Madeline Meador, a senior Exercise Science major, also saw Jesse McCartney her first year at Bellarmine. Meador didn’t go to in 2018 to see Cassadee Pope because she wasn’t very interested. “I would like to see more country or pop artists at Hillside” said Meador.
One of the biggest reasons Hillside had a hiatus was to save money to get a bigger name.
“It was decided that Hillside will be held every two years instead of every year to save money and it has helped the Hillside planning committee because we have more money to work with to make it more of an experience rather than just a concert,” said Bevab.
The committee hopes to use the extra money to make the Hillside experience feel more like a festival.
“My co-chair and I are really set on making it feel and look Iike Coachella, since it is on the same weekend as Coachella,” said Bevab. “Hopefully that’ll set a precedent for future Hillside shows to come. The extra money will help with decorating, food and fun festival-like activities.”
A few weeks ago BAC ran a poll on who the students would want to see perform at Hillside with options like Jack Harlow, COIN, and Josh Peck or someone from the Bachelor.
Emily Johnson, a senior Elementary Education major, also went to Hillside in 2017. She wasn’t a huge fan of the 2018 performer, so she didn’t attend.
“I would like to see Morgan Wallen, Jack Harlow or Byson Tiller perform at Hillside,” said Johnson.
The concert will be on Friday, April the 17th in the quad, but if it rains it’ll be moved to Knights Hall. The time is TBD. There will be vendors that will be serving food and beer.
Make sure to follow BAC on social media to see their announcement with all the details. And look out for their announcement on Thursday the 27th for who will be headlining Hillside!