After weeks of anticipation, Movin’ On announced most of its line-up for this spring’s music festival on Wednesday in the HUB-Robeson Center. There will be a fifth headliner as well as at least one local band which will be chosen after the Battle of the Bands, which is slated for March 31st. Below are some Onward State staff members’ opinions on the choices for the line-up thus far:

Evan Ponter

This year’s Movin’ On announcement is the same please-all format that the committee has been working with since last year. Except please-all for Movin’ On means booking mostly extremely white music acts (last year’s OAR, this year Avett Brothers) and one black dude (last year Lupe, this year Luda). There is no in-between acts, just folk/indie and a hip-hop.

The two small name acts, Young the Giant and The David Mayfield Parade aren’t anything I’m jumping out of my skin for. They’re both good in their own respects. YTG has the melodramatic, indie vibe of Coldplay with the poppy, radio-rock vibe of Maroon 5. David Mayfield Parade is an up-and-coming folk act with a dichotomy of sounds ranging from truck stop blue grass to twangy, Johnny Rockets 50’s rock.

Ludacris is just a ridiculous act to throw right before Avett Brothers. His rap style is rude, aggressive and relentless. He kills beats with a witty flow littered with fully cocked-back punch lines. I’m sure Luda’s demeanor is sure to offend pretty much the entire Women’s Studies department and I’m even more sure he could give two shits. I just hope he plays plenty of throwback jams from Red Light District so people can rap along. “Move Bitch” is a must.

Avett isn’t anything special. They have heartfelt lyricism, intricate instrumentals and a dedication to the folkiest of the folk scene. However, I’m told that they’re electric live performers.

Matt D’Ippolito

When I first heard the announcement and wrote our post about it, I sent a tweet from my personal account that I think pretty accurately sums up my opinion this year. As a senior, I’ve seen three years of not-so-good Movin’ On lineups. My freshman year the headliner was the Spill Canvas (yes, you read that right, headliner). The following year it was Less Than Jake, a band I would’ve gone crazy for in my middle school years. And last year we had OAR, who haven’t been very relevant in recent years, Lupe Fiasco, who was coming off a bad album and a country band (not a country fan, so no snarky feedback on them, sorry).

This year’s lineup isn’t exactly fantastic to me, but I’m happy with it. It’s certainly far better than any lineup we’ve had at a spring music fest so far (excluding Last Stop, which was awesome). I like much of the Avett Brothers’ folky musings, and I think they are a good choice. I’m probably most excited for Young the Giant, an indie rock band who I have predicted will become big stars in the near future. I’m a little disappointed with Ludacris, mostly because I’d prefer someone hot and new. But it could be worse (we could get someone who would show up 2 hours late or not at all *cough* Fabolous *cough*), and at least he has a wide selection of great and memorable songs and an aggressive style that’s sure to pump up the audience. And as I said in our post from Wednesday, I don’t know much (or anything, really) about the David Mayfield Parade, but I look forward to getting a taste of something new.

So all in all, while I’m not thrilled with this year’s lineup, I’m definitely content. That might be an artifact of having matured as a senior and realizing that we’re probably not going to get anything much bigger and better for Movin’ On. But for once I don’t have reason to rip the CORE Committee, and for that I’m thankful. It should be a good show.

Alex Federman

I’m extremely thankful to the Movin’ On committee for finally bringing the Avett Brothers to Penn State. After being introduced to them by my freshman-year roommate (a banjo player in a really good bluegrass band), they quickly became one of my most-played bands.  From faster songs like “Slight Figure of Speech” to slower, more wistful songs like “Paranoia in B-Flat Major” to just plain fun ones like “At the Beach,” there’s a song for everyone.  I think the Avett Brothers mostly got me through a really tough fall sophomore semester with “It Goes On and On.” And for anyone that’s concerned about having to listen to a “country” band, bluegrass/rock beats mainstream radio country music anyday. As for the other bands, I haven’t heard much about most of them. I mostly know Ludacris from the similarly titled “Ludachristmas” episode of 30 Rock. I have high hopes for the mysterious unannounced band.

Meghin Moore

This year’s Movin’ On fest will be my first one that I’ve gone to as a student here. When I found out that Young the Giant and the Avett Brothers were going to be two of the acts, I got incredibly excited. The Avett Brothers are a band I’ve been listening to for a while, and they are on my Band Bucket List. Over winter break, I visited my boyfriend in Greenville, South Carolina, and we both got excited to hear that they were going to play the Bi-Lo Center. He wanted to get tickets literally the day before they played, but I told him not to spend an outrageous amount of money on two tickets for seats that might not even be that good. Lo and behold, he’ll be up visiting me in April, and when I told him that they were going to play, for free, he got just as excited as me to see them perform, if not more excited than me, him being an avid banjo player. Perhaps one of my favorite songs of all time by them is “The Ballad of Love and Hate,” off of their album ‘Emotionalism.’ “Incomplete and Insecure,” off of ‘I and Love and You,’ comes in at second for my favorite song by them. Now as for Young the Giant? I’m just excited to sing at the top of my lungs to all of their songs, especially “I Got.”

Tyler Hoy

When the Movin’ On committee announcement was made I actually thought they were kidding. I proceeded to Google Dave Mayfield Parade and Young the Giant. I can now confirm that both do exist. I’ve heard of The Avett Brothers, but couldn’t name one of their songs. After listening to a few songs from each one; I was unimpressed. They all fall into the same category, folk/indie. Not everyone listens to that and it’s not even good concert music. Where is the variation?

Ludacris is a solid act even though it would have been a lot cooler to see him like eight years ago. Regardless, I’m sure he will put on a great show and he gives people incentive to actually attend the event.  I think there is a clause that only allows Movin’ On to bring one rap/hip-hop act per year.

An outdoor spring concert at a college should have a party atmosphere, yet the committee brought nothing in the EDM category. I don’t even like house music, I think it sounds like robot sex, but people eat it up. Why not please the larger majority?

If Movin’ On took place around a campfire and ten people were going, this line-up would be solid. I’m gonna go see Luda and make it back to Café for Happy Hour. At least we got Dayglow.

Anonymous Staffer

I’m hoping Movin’ On can book Turquoise Jeep as the 5th band. Those guys are awesome: great beats, lyrics, and man, do they know how to dance. Facial hair like that can’t be denied.