One of the first questions University of Idaho students asked each other following the Finals Fest 2014 concert reveal was “who the heck is Grouplove?”
A first look at this five-member band may cause you to blink a few times before taking a second one. Grouplove has indie band written all over them with the long hair and interesting fashion choices — and their music is edgy and innovative.
This alternative rock, indie pop group formed in 2009 and launched their debut extended play in 2010, which began a year of successful tours (including a West Coast tour with Florence and The Machine) that eventually earned Grouplove a spot in Nylon Magazine’s top 10 “Best New Bands in 2010.” They later re-released the “Grouplove” EP in 2011 after signing with Canvasblack/Atlantic Records and they headed out on a national tour with Foster the People.
You may remember hearing Grouplove’s hit single “Tongue Tied” from their album “Never Trust a Happy Song,” which was featured in an Apple iPod touch commercial and an advertisement for Coca-Cola. The song sold more than 1 million singles and was performed by the cast of “Glee” in the third season’s “Nationals” episode.
While Grouplove is certainly not at the caliber of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, it is difficult to make a direct comparison as they have two extremely different music styles and a whole different fan following. Macklemore may have had several hit singles in the Billboard Hot 100 (and yes, plenty of weeks sitting at No. 1 with “Thrift Shop,” “Can’t Hold Us” and “Same Love”), but you can’t expect a knock-out show like that every year.
What many students don’t know is that Macklemore was actually
scheduled to play for Finals Fest 2013 before “Thrift Shop” or “The Heist” album became insanely popular. Before their claim to fame, UI was able to bring them in for a lot less money than would be possible to do now — we just got really lucky he happened to be one of the most influential and successful hip-hop artists of the year.
Grouplove is making their way up the ladder and they have had several sold out shows across the globe. Who knows — maybe by the time Finals Fest 2014 hits, Grouplove will be sitting pretty at the top of Billboard’s list. Beni Haze, My Body Sings Electric and Kiven aren’t nearly as exciting as Grouplove, but they should add some good beats to the concert.
The major complaint about this year’s Finals Fest is the $14 UI students have to dish out compared to the one canned food item payment of last year.
While jumping from the odd amount of cents for a can of soup and charity donation to $14 seems like a pretty big (and unnecessary) leap to me, the fact of the matter is there is still a Finals Fest to go to.
Skipping out on a couple of pizzas to afford a good time at a concert right before we drain ourselves emotionally and mentally for Finals Week isn’t the worst thing that can happen.
Emily Vaartstra can be reached at