Sound of SUB, the Student Union Board’s annual spring concert, will bring headliner Dylan Gossett to Stepan Center Friday. Gossett is a rising country singer-songwriter, known for his single, “Coal,” which made the Billboard Hot 100. Gossett is joined by opening acts Sons of Habit and Brayden Stewart, as well as student opener The Mourning Doves.
“I’m excited to go to the concert because Dylan Gossett is, like, genuinely one of my favorite artists to listen to,” freshman Emma Van Bramer said. “I’m going to try to be one of the first people there. I know they’re going to kick people out if they’re standing in line before 5:30, but I will be there at 5:30.”
In previous years, SUB put on two concerts, one in the spring and one in the fall. Felix Smolen, SUB’s Concerts Committee chair, explained why SUB decided to host only one concert this year.
“Last year, promotion was a little hurried because SUB did a fall and a spring show. Booking for the spring artist Del Water Gap, a killer performance, had a tight promotional timeline,” Smolen said. “800 people showed up, which is nothing to scoff at, but we had hoped to continue to justify the importance and the excitement of the concert committee, so the better chance was to have a larger show in the spring.”
Smolen was hired in April 2025 and began planning for Sound of SUB in the summer.
“I really love live music, I play a lot of music and I really love immersing myself in shows. Back home in Baltimore, I go to a lot of local venues, so it’s really small and I had a band in high school, so it’s really easy,” Smolen said. “But for these larger touring acts, I had no idea where to start.”
Smolen began the process by reaching out to booking agents, inquiring about pricing and availability for various artists and genres. In September, once SUB had determined the concert’s date, the list narrowed even further. The process required lots of communication between SUB and the agencies, but Smolen highlights how it became more manageable as it progressed.
“It was fun to realize that some of these things, like reaching out to artists, are a little bit more accessible than you might think,” Smolen said.
From there, the committee gauges interest in what types of performances the student body would like to see. This year, SUB aimed to increase visibility and excitement by booking a larger artist: Dylan Gossett. Although SUB booked Gossett in October, the legal contracting process took longer than expected. Due to contracting delays, SUB was unable to promote the concert as much as they would have liked. However, Smolen predicts the concert will be near Stepan’s full capacity of 1,800 people.
“We really tried to dig deep and see what people wanted. And it seemed like a lot of people would be interested in Dylan Gossett, or at least the genre of this concert. It was really cool to experience the Zach Bryan concert at the beginning of the year, which is in a similar vein. I think a lot of people had fun with that, so we felt very motivated,” Smolen said.
SUB first announced the openers, Sons of Habit and Brayden Stewart, for Sound of SUB on Instagram in February and revealed Dylan Gossett as the headliner March 20. Because SUB invested in a larger performance for the spring show rather than hosting two concerts, ticket sales increased to $20 this year.
Smolen notes that, in recent years, artists have become more expensive to book, and production advances have risen. To make the concert accessible to more students, financial aid for tickets is available in SUB’s student body-wide email.
“We were disappointed that we had to up [ticket prices] to $20 to break even and utilize our budget effectively,” Smolen said. “This should be accessible to all students and I certainly want everyone to go. Concerts are the best.”
Freshman Hannah Wolfarth is a member of the SUB Concerts Committee who will work backstage during the production and hopes to meet Dylan Gossett.
“I’m excited to see all of it put together, all the hard work that’s been done. It’s such a unique experience that not a lot of other schools get, because it’s not open to the public, only students. You get to be in a floor seat, essentially, to a really great concert,” Wolfarth said.
In addition to being SUB’s Concerts Committee chair, Smolen is also the opener with his band, The Mourning Doves, and suggests arriving early to the concert.
“The two touring openers, Brayden Stewart and Sons of Habit, are incredible. Lots of times, those smaller artists go unnoticed. I’m a really big fan of that sort of thing, so I strongly encourage people to show up and support them and support their music,” Smolen said. “It’ll be good, cathartic, and the musical experience is going to be dynamic and incredibly engaging and really authentic and honest.”
