The Norman 360 performing at Day on the Hill 1997 (scanned from Norman 360 members band archives)
Students gathered on Campanille Hill on May 2, 1992, to see Pearl Jam perform at an annual event known as “Day on the Hill.” This event was an outdoor concert put on by KU’s Student Union Activities (SUA) using the leftover budget money in the spring.
“It was bananas. Total urban legend stuff,” said Kent Smith, who served on the SUA committee when he attended KU. “EV (Eddie Vedder) hung from the stage scaffolding, people would swear there were 30,000 or more people there. No one could believe it was happening. Lawrence was known for helping bands break through and this was one of those times.”
The SUA committee had a moment of luck when they booked Pearl Jam for Day on the Hill in 1992. At the time of booking, Pearl Jam was still relatively unknown. During the period between when they were booked by the SUA and the actual performance, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with their 1991 album “Ten.”
Smith, who is an assistant teaching professor at the KU School of Architecture and Design, gave insight into what Day on the Hill looked like behind the scenes. Planning Day on the Hill was a commitment and took a good portion of the year to plan through booking and contracts, stage planning and lighting, designing merchandise, and getting word to the media. According to Smith, it was an opportunity for KU students to plan a professional event that would look good on a resume.
This was also a time before Kansas City built up its music scene with the Crossroads and acts would go out of their way to play in Lawrence. Radio stations such as KJHK and The Lazer, as well as the Red House Recording Studio, were appealing to artists, making Lawrence a guaranteed stop. When it came to booking artists, individuals would bring tapes and CDs to the SUA committee who would then pick artists based on interest and budget.
“It was an amazing, free, day-long music event that celebrated emerging and youth-centric bands, often featuring acts that were just breaking or were considered ‘alternative’,” Smith said. “It took advantage of the word-of-mouth that had spread amongst traveling bands about Lawrence as a music town.”
According to Smith, the SUA committee would work out their yearly budget before making an offer to a headliner and booking staging companies. From there, the committee would begin negotiations and decide a rate for local bands. While some of the funds would be locked away in advance, other portions would be in negotiation right up until the event. This planning process allowed KU students to plan a resume-building, professional event while gaining experience that will serve them in the long run.
Day on the Hill was a successful event bringing big acts such as Pearl Jam, They Might Be Giants, and The Urge, but also showcased student bands such as The Norman 360. Though many bands performed at Day on the Hill, Pearl Jam seems to have had the biggest impact, with the band having just made it big.
The event ended in 2002, as artist booking costs outgrew the SUA budget, and had a brief revival in 2005 that lasted for a few years.
“I think they were scared by how big it got and they didn’t fully understand how special it was,” Smith said. “Who knows, these days with social media and other ways of finding value or marketing in such an amazing event, maybe they would see it differently.”