Visiting the Spring Weekend Concerts of Years Past

CHARLIE MCMAHON ’18
A&E EDITOR
Spring Weekend. Every year, the event brings Trinity College’s student body out of the library, and collectively onto the LSC quad for a concert. This tradition stretches back decades, as well musical genre. In today’s musical climate, the top touring acts are normally EDM disc jockeys, or up-and-coming rap artists. But back in the day, when colleges served as a touring environment for young artists, everything was much different. All across the country, in the ‘70s and ‘80s, bands on the verge of making it big would flock to college campuses, testing out new music and developing their sound. Whereas today, the Spring Weekend headliner is normally as successful group, back in the day, the band would oftentimes still be starting out. In the twenty-first century, music has shifted and evolved drastically from the late nineteenth century, so it’s interesting to go back and look at what once was.
In order to scrounge up a little more information pertaining to the Spring Weekend of years gone by, the Tripod digital repository is the best place to head… 1983 may not feel that long ago, but music and popular culture in general was vastly different. To put things into context, on the third page of the May 10, 1983, there’s a large advertisement publicizing a new type Seagrams blended whiskey. According to the ad, “Rock n’ roll really stirs with the exciting taste of Seagram’s 7 &7UP. And so does country and western, and jazz, and disco— in fact, everything sounds better with 7 & 7. Enjoy our quality in moderation.”
“Rock n’ Roll,” while definitely no longer at its zenith, was still enjoying popularity amongst students. DJs were not the norm, and earlier that month, world renowned U2 headlined Spring Weekend, brining with them Bono’s renowend vocals, and the Edge’s “edgy” guitar playing abilities… In 1985, the group released the critically acclaimed “Joshua Tree,” but at this point, they were still just a garage rock group enjoying
their first sparks of success. Having released “Boy” in 1980, U2 followed their debut album with “October” (1981), and in February of 1983, “War” was released, bringing with it hit singles “New Year’s Day” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
Regardless of the selected artist, Trinity students have always had a blast. Going forward, it’s always interesting to look back at the concerts of years gone by. Music may shift and change, but Spring Weekend will always prove to be a great time.