Acoustic singer-songwriter Joshua Radin will serenade students in Reynolds Theater Feb. 18, Duke University Union officials announced Tuesday.
Tickets, which go on sale today at the Duke University Box Office, will cost $13 for students and $18 for others.
The Major Attractions committee is abandoning the adage that bigger is better with a series of smaller performances that aim to cater to various sectors of the student population, said committee Chair Chamindra Goonewardene.
Radin was selected to appeal to a different musical taste than the other shows staged this year and because of the performer's compatibility with the venue, said Goonewardene and Head of Production Vincent Ling, both juniors.
"We definitely thought he would perform really well considering the intimacy of the theater," Goonewardene said. "In Reynolds, we can bring in performers who are not widely popular but can cater to a smaller audience."
Although Radin has yet to hit the charts, his music has appeared on the television show "Scrubs" numerous times and he has worked with actor and director Zach Braff.
The show will be the first Union event this year to be staged in Reynolds, a 600-person venue considerably smaller than the 1,200-person Page Auditorium, the site of this fall's Regina Spektor concert, Pablo Francisco's comedy act last week and the upcoming Augustana and Boys Like Girls show.
Ling said the smaller performances are a better allocation of the Union's budget than a single large-scale event, such as the nixed Cameron Rocks! concert, previously held each year in March.
"The whole goal of Major Attractions this semester is to bring a wide variety of artists to hit a wide demographic," Ling said. "We thought we hadn't really hit the acoustic genre yet.... [Radin] is an up-and-coming acoustic artist and we felt he would put on a really good show."
Although many students said they were unfamiliar with Radin's music, they said they preferred a series of smaller performances with lesser-known artists.
"I think it's a great idea--exposing people to music they never might have listened to," sophomore Kat Hampton said. "You can't please everyone."
She added that the Union seems to be gauging student tastes more effectively this year.
Other students said they felt many of this year's concerts have been too similar in genre.
"These artists could be construed as typically playing for female audiences," said sophomore Sudha Patel. "I can definitely see how that would be a concern."
Taking this fall's Joe College Day performances into consideration as well as appearances by alt-rockers Third Eye Blind and rapper Lupe Fiasco slated for the Last Day of Classes concert, however, Goonewardene said the Union has been much more comprehensive in its selections this year.
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