The 311 Concert

I spent the year between my MA and PhD programs as the full-time advisor to the Auburn University Program Council. At the time, UPC was one of the most active and high profile student groups on campus. We were responsible for all campus entertainment, and we had something like a $750,000 budget of student activity fees to spend back then. We planned giant concerts with big name artists, two community-wide parties a year that we called Tiger Nights, guest speakers, comedians… it was a 60-80 hour/week gig that I think I got like $1200/month to do. I didn’t care. I needed, badly needed, a job in August 2005, when it suddenly became available. The full-time advisor, Jeff, got a new job at the end of July, right around the time I graduated with my MA degree and had nothing else lined up. I’d served as the UPC graduate assistant for the previous 18 months, and I adored the students and staff who made UPC run. So, I agreed to stay on another year in a full-time capacity.

Well, if I’m being honest, I ran down to the Dean of Students’ office immediately after Jeff told me he was leaving, and begged the Dean to let me stay on as a full time temporary hire, killing time until I got into a PhD program. He thankfully agreed.

Auburn UPC completely, totally spoiled me from ever working with another student group again. No other group even came close to the joy, excitement, and passion that UPC had. I hope some of the UPC alumni are reading this and smiling. I’m still so proud of all of them, for their accomplishments as students and the amazing careers they’ve gone on to in their adult lives. UPC was an excellent training ground for students in a wide range of fields, everything from engineering to entertainment.

We planned two major concerts a year. For our spring 2006 concert, we chose the band 311. 

I think they were our Major Entertainment Director’s, favorite band, but they were also hot at the time. The show was to be on March 9, two days before March 11, which is the big day for 311 fans. (Get it? March 11? 3-11? It took me a minute back then but once it clicked I’ve never forgotten it.) They were headlining a show in Memphis two days after they played for us. 

Here’s a Leadership 101 lesson that you probably already know but I did not fully understand back in 2006: when you’re planning and leading an event of this scope, like a $100,000 of taxpayer money type event, you should plan for contingencies. For example, we knew we wanted an outdoor show because the vibe was just better than indoor shows, but we know how Alabama weather is in March. While the smart thing to do would’ve been to set the concert on a date where we had a backup plan - like, say, reserving the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum and not worrying about the weather - the only date 311 was available that year was on March 9. Beard-Eaves was unavailable on March 9. We did not have another good indoor option for a show of this size.

So, we went for it. The show would be totally outdoors on March 9, rain or shine! UPC hadn’t needed to cancel a show in recent memory. We’d probably be fine.

And whether I’m planning a picnic for 2 or major concert for 2,000 people, I obsess over the weather starting 10 days out, which is what I did. The weather looked good on March 8, the day before the show. Chances of rain on March 9 were about 10%. 

Everything went perfectly for the setup, which was great because the last semester’s fall show had… issues. That’s another blog and another story all together. Stay tuned.

March 9 rolled around, 311 showed up, and things fell into place. Thanks to a lot of planning, all was going as it should. Did I mention the students were awesome? That’s why things went so well. They all did their jobs. They were professionals, even as college students.

Now, EMTs and security were standard protocol for all our major concerts. About 5 pm that day, our on-site EMT called me over to his tent.

I basically skipped over with my clipboard and walkie talkie, feeling important and proud, because surely he was going to just go over some routine emergency management stuff and then we’d open the gates. Students were already lining up to get in early for good stage views. 

However, I didn’t like the look on his face, or the tone in his voice when he said, “come here, I need to show you something.”

And I look at his monitor, which was displaying the most updated weather radar.

There was a line of red stretching from Cullman all the way to Fairhope, just on the other side of Birmingham, headed directly for Auburn. It looked sort of like this.

image courtesy WBRC news.

Imagine this exact thing but right about to hit Birmingham instead of being all the way in Tuscaloosa.

Let me remind everyone that this story took place in 2006. “Apps” did not exist on our Nokia flip phones. We did not get real-time weather updates at this point in our lives. Since we’d all been outside all day, setting up and preparing for the show, no one bothered to look at the weather. It was gorgeous all day. We rolled with it, obliviously happy.

My heart sank when I saw the radar. A lifetime of dealing with Alabama weather told me that this was not good.

I said, “well, that doesn’t look good. What am I supposed to do?”

He said, “it’s your call. I can’t tell you what to do. But I can tell you that this storm will be here in about 2 hours. And if lighting strikes one of those speakers hanging up on that scaffold, and it hits and kills someone on the front row, that’s on you. You’d be responsible.”

I said, “okay, then. I’m cancelling the show.”

One of the hardest things about leadership is having to deliver bad news to people you care about. Having to tell Steve, our Major Entertainment Director, that his show was getting cancelled broke my heart as much as it did his. We were all in disbelief, because, at the time - about 5:05 pm on March 9 - the sun was shining and it was gorgeous outside. This is also Alabama weather for you. There could be a tornado in Tuskegee but sunshine in Auburn; it’s just the way it is there. 

Our students were deeply upset, especially when they had to tell their fellow students already lined up for a front row seat to go back to their dorms. The UPC students had poured so much time and energy into this show. It was just devastating. We hadn’t actually cancelled a concert in years. We were in shock.

But we also had to go into action. I called the show early to alleviate chaos, avoid having to evacuate large crowds, and give us time to disassemble the whole stage setup, a process that usually takes a day. We thought we’d at least get the cables and electrical equipment put away before the storms rolled in. We’d get the instruments off the stage and save the most expensive of things that could get ruined in a storm. We’d been working quickly with Auburn Risk Management and Public Safety and, of course, the band, who all weighed in on the final decision.

Everyone pitched in to try to take down what staging and equipment they could before the impending doom arrived. We cried as we were rolling and putting away cables.

By about 11 pm, everything was taken down, and we were ready to go home.

Guess what? It didn’t rain a drop. Didn’t even get cloudy. The storms moved directly northeast, skirting southeast Alabama completely.

As a leader, you sometimes have to make quick decisions based on the information you have in front of you at the time.

Here is a list of the information I had:

• We were about to begin a multi-thousand dollar concert for thousands of students, who trusted us to provide a safe environment.

• There were storms headed for Auburn, supposedly arriving about the time said concert began. This information was verified by an objective third party, the EMT.

• This storm appeared to have lots of lightning associated with it.

• Lighting kills people.

• Lightning also fries guitars. Guitars that belong to 311 that they needed in 2 days for their big Memphis 3-11 show. 

It was just too risky. Cancelling the show was the logical option, based on that information.

Information we did not have that would have been helpful:

• The weather was going to skirt right around Auburn, leaving everyone confused as to why we cancelled a perfectly good show.

Information we actually had but did not want to accept:

• Weather is a fickle bitch, especially in Alabama in March where it could snow one day and be 80 the next.

• Outdoor concerts in the spring are probably best held indoors just in case.

As a leader, sometimes it’s hard to justify your actions, especially when people only see the tip of the iceberg - the decision, not the process. The thousands of students who thought they were going to see a show only knew that we were turning them away due to “weather.” Weather at the time that was sunny, and weather that did not turn bad.

Communicating about that decision to the public, on an official level, was very difficult. I got a call from a Plainsman writer at 8 am the next day, asking me just what in the actual hell caused us to cancel a show like that at the last minute. I was honest, transparent, and explained the decision making process. It wasn’t fun. The Plainsman writer was still mad. He, also, wanted to see 311. 

Notice that pull quote. Actually, 2006 LBD, a back-up plan was possible, you just chose not to have one.

I would have loved to have blamed the EMT, the radar, faulty data, anything at all except for take responsibility for that decision, but the right thing to do was to just own up to the decision I made, based on the information we had at the time. After all, it was ultimately my call (along with input from the entities cited here in the article).

Luckily, one of the contingency plans we did have in place was event insurance. So, the band still got paid, without having to sue us, for cancelling the show.

I’m glad I learned these lessons so early on in my career. That’s the real Leadership 101 lesson for today. My takeaway points: in what seems like a difficult situation, be honest, be transparent, own up to the decision, and empathize. Also, contingency plan. If I was planning the show today, I like to think I’d override the emotional desire to have a fun outdoor show, and instead have the logical sense to have the concert indoors. It would be more important to have the show at all than to run the risk of it being cancelled because of fickle weather.

Luckily, I learned the lessons of transparency and contingency planning 16 years ago. They came in handy in other decisions in later situations.

Does your organization need help contingency planning? Do you need help learning how to communicate transparently with your followers, not just in times of a disaster? I have a limited number of consulting and speaking opportunities available for the fall, to talk about communication, leadership, and - of course - contingency planning for multiple scenarios. Reach out to me at laurabethdaws (at) gmail (dot) com if you’re interested in working with me!