Passion Pit to stop at IU Auditorium for environmental awareness concert

Saturday, the IU Auditorium will present an environmental awareness event carefully disguised as one of America’s most popular touring acts.

Passion Pit, one of summer 2010’s most in-demand touring artists, will make a stop in Bloomington as part of the Campus Consciousness Tour, presented by Reverb.

The concert, sponsored by Union Board, will also feature up-and-coming group Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the auditorium box office and at
ticketmaster.com.

Students can also bill the tickets to their bursar accounts.

James Still, Union Board concert director, said Passion Pit has been on the board’s radar as a potential concert for a while.

Still took the opportunity to bring the band to Bloomington as soon as it was presented to him.

“They’re a really fun college band to have, especially because they started in a college dorm,” Still said. “It’s a great way for students to relieve themselves from the stress of midterms. There’s nothing better than blowing off steam with a dance party with Passion Pit.”

Passion Pit’s performance will be preceded by an exhibition event at Dunn Meadow, sponsored by the Campus Consciousness Tour.

The event will include a number of booths raising awareness about environmental issues, as and awareness.

The tour will also sponsor an Eco-Village in front of the auditorium, offering more information about the tour’s goals and featuring a number of contests, including a chance to meet the band after the show.

“We’re psyched to work with Reverb on the tour greening,” Ian Hultquist, Passion Pit’s keyboardist and guitarist, said in a press release. “We’re all environmentally aware guys, and it just makes sense to minimize the environmental impact of
our shows.”

Passion Pit formed in 2007 when Hultquist, then a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, proposed the formation with lead vocalist Michael Angelakos after hearing a sample of Angelakos’ work.

The band emerged in mainstream media in 2008, thanks to a Palm Pixi commercial featuring the track “Sleepyhead” off the 2008 “Chunk of Change”
album.

Still said the band’s performance will be one of the year’s biggest parties, and students should expect nothing less.

“Expect just total energy and a great light show,” Still said. “Plus, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears is a great up and coming band. It’s like getting two bands for the price of one.”

Hultquist said the band wanted to provide more to its performances than music — one of the main reasons they signed with the Campus Consciousness Tour.

“We signed onto the tour because we loved the idea of bringing more than just a concert onto these campuses,” he said of the remaining shows on the tour, including the Bloomington show. “Reverb has figured out how to combine a cause campaign with a rock tour in a way that only enhances the concert experience.”