There’s another benefit to looking at older artists. Harvard uses its name to get big speakers to come to campus, often presenting them with lifetime achievement awards. Old bands like Journey still play stadiums. But if they got an award from Harvard and had speeches or discussion on campus, I bet they might be willing to play a show as well afterwards for a reduced fee. Think of it: Journey—JOURNEY—playing a show on our campus.

It all boils down to the fact that if we continue to aim for popular, new artists, we’ll never match up to the lineups at other schools. Instead of trying to compete with other spring festivals, we should make Yardfest a new concert genre unto its own.

We’re the oldest school in the country. Let’s have the oldest artists too. The first year may be weird. But after a few years the trend will catch on. Yardfest would take on its own identity. That identity would be quirky. It would be funny. It would be fun. And it’d become another great defining feature of this school.

Anyways, that’s the dream. It’s a long-shot. But, as a wise band once said, “Don’t Stop Believin'.” Let’s bring Journey to Yardfest.

 

Dashiell F. Young-Saver ’16, a Crimson editorial writer, is an English concentrator in Winthrop House. His column appears on alternate Mondays.