Think about all of the dates you circle and make an effort to keep clear so that you can partake in whatever is planned for that date. For some people, that special date that comes before all else is a holiday like Christmas, the Fourth of July, or Thanksgiving.
For the last four years I have been keeping my calendar clear for whatever date the Sigma Chi Derby Days concert is. Each year holds its own special aura of experience with me. Not only is it an insane annual event that the students on campus can enjoy but it is also one of the leading philanthropic events on campus. The most exciting part is that it’s just around the corner, October 4th.
Although not every chapter throws a concert to conclude the week of events and competitions, Derby Days has been around since 1916, when the University of California-Berkeley held the first “Derby Day” event. Since that fateful day, chapters around the country have been finding new and inventive ways to reinvigorate the old tradition, while pushing each year to raise more money than the last.
As stated on Sigma Chi’s website, the national goal for derby days is to simply serve the community. We try each year to make our Derby Days bigger and better, and each year has come with changes to the concert and the week.
As someone who has experienced the last three years of this concert, I can tell you that Derby Days week has only gotten better and seems to be on track to improve in years to come. The problem routinely faced is the budget that has to be managed. It goes without question that a concert costs money, and a lot of it. Artists don’t come cheap and if you’re just starting out with your first concert it makes it even harder with the lack of connections.
I was still caught up in my days at Salem High School in Canton, Michigan when the first Derby Day’s concert took place. (Side note: normally someone would write in some shout out to their late high school, but I think it would do more harm than good.) Anytime you tell someone that your high school mascot is a rock - no, there’s no typo here, it really was a rock - you can see the change in facial expression that just says, “I feel so sorry for you." Yeah well, to make matters worse, someone got paid to come up with that idea.paid.
Anyway, time to get away from this tangent. The first concert started as a crazed, still drunken 3:00am idea between two people who considered all of the resources around them. They had the man-power, just enough money, and time to put on a concert for charity. So the journey began and became something of a legend at the moment Sammy Adams left the stage after his performance.
Derby Days had been changed for the next four years to come and the concert proved to be more successful than any other event put into action in the past. The first time I had even heard of throwing a concert in the back parking lot, I called the bluff, but failed. I thought it was impossible for a group of ‘kids’ to hire a high-profile artist to perform at a self-made concert.
The funniest part of the second concert was that I had never heard of White Panda yet was just as excited as if I was going to see any other concert. Waking up that morning to set up the stage in the chilly, late October weather could only be seconded to Christmas morning. It’s one of the only times that I enjoyed manual labor for free. I have to admit that White Panda was the most disappointing of the three Derby Days concerts that I have witnessed, but only because each following concert was greater than before.
The most enjoyable part of running these concerts in the distance. You are always close to whatever is going on. Whether it is the entrance of the artist in the parking lot or the group photo after the concert you are always the closest person to the action. One of the many jobs that Sigma Chi members are responsible for during the concert is working the barricades.
The barricades refer to the small space between the stage and the crowd. The only thing standing between you and thousands of people is a four foot high wall that looks as stable as high tables in restaurants. It’s exilerating to feel the sound waves from the bass speaker pound on your entire body and rattle your head. You can’t help, but feel good at these concerts. The attendees also make or break the energy of the concert and I’ve got to say that Minnesota has proven to have some of the more high energy, lively people on campus that help make this concert into what it is today.
Let’s move on! The third Derby Day’s concert hosted the Ying Yang Twins. What they lacked in notoriety they made up for in their performance. This was the most fun I’ve ever had at a concert. It was just like my first year, filled with all the excitement in my first Derby Days experience. The only difference was that this concert was better than the first.
Being the third year that this concert has been put on, it only makes sense that everything is run more smoothly and improvements are made from prior years. The first thing I noticed were the third party vendors that were at the concert including Red Bull and Monster. In addition to these small improvements to the concert, the chapter also developed sales techniques to help promote the concert and sell more tickets.
More ticket sales means more charity, which is what the concert is really about.We took what we learned from that week and built off it for the fourth annual (last year). The artist was more high profile (G-Eazy), and now we had an entire week of activities for the sorority women to take part in, each having their own individual chance to contribute to the cause. We managed to raise the most money to date, but still had bigger plans.
Enter this year. We built off our week-long concept, learning from last year and implementing changes as necessary. Our two Derby Day chairs, Spencer Bemel and Nels Haugin, have put in an incredible amount of work to guarantee an amazing week for all involved. Oh yeah, and they got Waka Flocka Flame headlining with Chief Keef opening. Not bad coming from White Panda.
So come on out! The week concludes with the concert on Saturday, October 4th.
