The Bryce Jordan Center is experiencing a slight case of déjà vu, but not by chance.
Among the various big name artists hitting the BJC stage this semester, some are making a return.
Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa, who is performing at the BJC Friday, was last in Happy Valley in spring of 2011.
Similarly, Zac Brown Band, who performed on Wednesday, also performed a year ago during the 2011 Homecoming weekend.
Country music superstar Carrie Underwood is also gracing the BJC stage in November, sure to bring back memories for her since she was there for her tour in 2010.
The BJC bringing back certain acts is no coincidence.
Bernie Punt, sales and marketing director for the BJC, said the promoter of the concerts and the BJC usually wait a one-year minimum to bring back an artist who they agree will be popular enough and bring a good turnout.
This was the case for Zac Brown Band, who garnered close to 10,000 people in the stands at the BJC last year, Punt said.
Punt said ZBB’s BJC show was one of the highest attended shows during their tour, which made the band want to return soon.
Brittany Dudas was disappointed she couldn’t make the Zac Brown Band concert last year, so she was excited to hear they were coming back within her college career.
“I’ve become a pretty big country music fan over the last two years and the tickets were an investment, but I hear they are really good live so I wanted to go,” Dudas (senior-public relations) said.
Dudas didn’t think Zac Brown Band coming back to the BJC this year was too soon and Chelsea Franey agreed, but mentioned that there should certainly be a time gap before bringing back the same artist.
Franey (junior-finance) has her BJC tickets all set to see Carrie Underwood perform and was glad she hadn’t seen Underwood too soon before the November 2012 date because she doesn’t want to see artists perform the same songs.
“I like the idea of repeats,” Franey said. “Having it spaced out two years is good because how often does an artist come out with new stuff?”
Ricky Allen who has seen Wiz Khalifa in concert multiple times, including a front row view at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, thinks Khalifa is a big enough and popular act to bring back every year if allotted.
“Wiz loves his music, gets into it, connects with fans more than most rappers, and keeps fans close to heart,” Allen (senior-kinesiology) said, “plus his manager is a Penn State grad.”
However, when Allen saw Khalifa at the BJC last spring he thought the venue wasn’t crowded enough.
“There wasn’t enough people there and people on the floor looked like they were having a lot of fun but being in the stands was just like chilling and listening to music.”
