Carleton’s 41st annual Spring Concert is set to take place on Saturday, May 21 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Sproncert will be headlined by Los Angeles rapper Duckwrth. Rebecca McCartney, Gully Boys, Maude Latour and Tank & the Bangas, along with student bands Paranoid Fiction and Beans of Production, will play opening sets. Sproncert will also include a firework show, food trucks and student DJs.
This will be the first Sproncert for most Carleton students, with only the Class of 2022 having any memory of the event. These seniors relish the opportunity to partake in a tradition they enjoyed in their early days at Carleton.
“Sproncert was something you heard about your whole freshman year, so that year really felt like it was building up to Sproncert and Rotblatt,” said Ben Perry ’22. “I just got to spend all day outside with my friends, it was a beautiful day and crazy, fun stuff happened all day. Those days can be rare at Carleton — days when you’re not thinking about school or anything stressful. So I’m pretty psyched about it. I think it’ll be a great way to round out my Carleton experience.”
“I’m really excited because we haven’t had a Sproncert since freshman year,” said Natalie Lafferty ’22. “I know some of Maude Latour’s songs, so I’m really excited to hear her, and I really like MICHUUL. by Duckwrth. I’m looking forward to experiencing another Carleton tradition with my friends.”
Other students who haven’t experienced the event are looking forward to finally figuring out what it’s all about.
“I’m very excited and I’m glad it’s finally happening,” said Nai Balls ’23. “I don’t care so much about the artist picks because it’s happening, I’m just excited to be outside and hang out with my friends.”
Duckwrth notably played at St. Olaf’s 2021 Fall concert, and some of his more well-known songs include “Start a Riot” from the “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” soundtrack and “MICHUUL.” which has more than 51 million streams on Spotify.
“I was a little disappointed we had the same artist as St. Olaf, but I didn’t go to the St. Olaf concert and I think Duckwrth is a pretty cool dude,” said Brett Hanley ’25. “I saved one of his songs in 2016. So I hope he plays that song.”
Sproncert regulations regarding alcohol specify that common containers like kegs and boxed wine will be prohibited, as are all glass containers. Students are limited to six 12 to 16 ounces. beverages with a maximum of 8% alcohol by volume.
“I’m excited to get my 16 standardized beers down,” said Will Brewster ’23. “Working within the regulations, you can bring six 16 ounce, 8% daddy sodas. By my calculations, that amounts to 16 standardized beers. I am amped.”
Unfortunately, the weather forecast doesn’t look optimistic for Sproncert. The Saturday forecast predicts a cloudy day with a high of 54 degrees and a low of 40 degrees. Yet students refuse to let the dreary weather dampen their spirits.
“Mmmhm, music. Will it rain?” questioned Kate Ward ’25. “I am very optimistic, and I think it’s going to be really fun, even if it rains. But I’m a first-year so I really don’t know. Maybe we can have a woodstock mudpit if it rains.”
“I’m super excited for Sproncert this year,” said Ben ‘Bentoes’ Santos ’22. “Sproncert is really quintessential Carleton; it really brought everyone and everything together. It sucks I only got to have two of them, but I’m glad to be back.”
