The Grand Rapids-based band Pretoria will be performing at Spring Fling on April 25.
Spring Fling will be at the Robinson Quad from 2-5 p.m. There will be carnival rides, crafts, food trucks and live music. The Spring Fling is free for Ferris students to attend with the event put on by the campus programming board, Entertainment Unlimited.
Pretoria guitarist Matt Burdick gave some insights on their upcoming set list that they will be performing at Spring Fling.
“It’s going to be a lot of original stuff,” Burdick said. “But, we have a handful of very fun covers that we have planned. There will be many songs that everybody will recognize. So, I’d say a pretty decent split of original songs and covers.”
Pretoria guitarist Josh Bilisko’s journey into music traces back to the virtual realm of Guitar Hero.
“Playing ‘Through The Fire and Flames’ on medium difficulty, maybe expert, made me really engaged with music,” Blisko said. “I just wanted to take it further and bring it into the real world.”
Similarly, Burdick found his musical calling through Guitar Hero, while Pretoria guitarist Matt Pavlock’s early exposure to the violin, which his dad used to play, ignited his passion for music.
Pretoria describes their music as alternative indie rock, with some power pop, surf vibes and post-punk in a few songs.
“We’re stoked to play the show,” Bilisko said. “You guys have a really good music business program, probably one of the best of the schools here in Michigan. We’re happy to be supporting that.”
One of the openers of the Spring Fling is marketing and music and entertainment business administration junior Johnathan Stroble, whose artist name is SGB Lil Strobe.
“There has been a lot of controversy at this school regarding who SGB Lil Strobe is, so I am excited to showcase it at the Spring Fling, and I am very appreciative of the opportunity,” Stroble said.
Stroble described his music as mainly alternative rap but said it can also be described, at times, as jazz, R&B, country or hard rock, with his start being in his house.
“My cousin had brought home a studio, I hopped on the microphone just to see what I could do,” Stroble said. “I showed my dad, who is now my manager, what I did. He introduced me to a couple of people in the industry based on what I had pre-recorded right there. That kind of inspiration drove me to make sure I had quality music and started my brand.”
Stroble also wanted to shout out his advisor for helping support his music journey.
“A lot of the relationships that I have built around Big Rapids for different venues that I’ve formed have been specifically through my adviser, Paul Kwant, the music entertainment business association is run through him and a lot of the stuff that we have had offered to us would not happen if it was not for Paul,” Stroble said.
If you want to support Pretoria and SGB Lil Strobe, you can see them and other artists perform live at the Spring Fling on April 25.
CE – AM