University Union Concerts was forced to drop rapper Lloyd Banks from its list of acts this week after realizing it did not have sufficient funds to bring him to Syracuse University.

After budget cuts by the Student Association and the Finance Board, UU Concerts now only has enough funds to hold the annual Block Party at the end of this semester, said Sherlen Archibald, co-chair of UU Concerts.

The Banks act fell through about two days ago, said Adam Gorode, co-chair of UU Concerts along with Archibald.

‘The reason is more because of financial reasons, they wanted money we just couldn’t come up with,’ Archibald said.

With a lack of funding from SA, UU Concerts still plans to put on five or six Bandersnatch shows that will feature such artists as Totally Rad and the Pocket Dwellers.

Part of the funding for the Bandersnatch shows will come from proceeds made from other UU Concerts events such as the recent Ben Folds show.

UU Concerts is currently sending in appeals for money from the rollover fund in order to get more acts later in the semester, Gorode said.

‘All we have right now is money for Block Party,’ Gorode said.

Although it was not the principal issue that led to the cancellation of the Banks act, Archibald said security and safety at the show was another factor UU Concerts had to take into consideration.

‘Security is an issue with any concert, especially when you’re dealing with hip-hop,’ Archibald said.

Besides the upcoming Bandersnatch shows, UU Concerts’ primary focus will be on Block Party, Archibald said. The group hopes to expand the event more, but so far no acts have been confirmed for the festival.

‘We’re working as hard and as fast as we can,’ Archibald said. ‘It’s crunch time right now.’

Archibald said that even though UU Concerts will not be putting on as many shows as usual this semester, he still wants students to show their support for the organization.

‘We’re still battling it out to have concerts,’ he said. ‘We hope for support from the students; we appreciate all the support we have.’

Published on February 23, 2005 at 12:00 pm