UPDATE: Did people really think SCAD would book one of the most popular and expensive acts in the world for a free concert in Forsyth Park? The Greyboy Allstars are the headliners. Click here for more on the lineup.
ORIGINAL POST:
About 20 people have landed on this blog in the last 24 hours after searching some combination of the terms “mumford & sons”, “scad”, “forsyth park”, “graduation concert”, “savannah”, and “new alumni concert”. I’ve never even hinted at the possibility that Mumford & Sons might play the 2013 New Alumni Concert in Forsyth Park, presumably scheduled for Friday, May 31st, but I have used all those terms in various posts at some point or another.
If a small site like mine is getting that many hits via search engines, I can’t even imagine how many people out there must be looking for evidence to confirm the rumor.
I’m not sure who exactly has been behind the hoax — assuming that official denials can be believed — but the brief saga is an interesting example of how rumors can be fueled by social media and by wishful thinking.
First off, here’s the tweet from SCAD this morning denying the rumor:
Though it would be awesome, Mumford & Sons isn’t playing our new alumni concert. It’s a rumor. They’re great though > ow.ly/jTHAa
— SCAD (@SCADdotedu) April 9, 2013
Anyone curious about the possibility of SCAD springing for Mumford & Sons also might want to consider the improbability of such a wildly popular act playing a free show. Sure, SCAD’s graduation concerts have featured the likes of James Brown, Ziggy Marley, George Clinton, and Michael Frante Franti, but wouldn’t all those acts be considerably less expensive than Mumford & Sons would be right now? (Or not?)
And then there’s Mumford & Sons’ tour schedule. Yes, there’s a curiously open Saturday night on June 1st, but on May 31st and June 2nd the band is performing in California. And SCAD’s new alumni concerts have always been held on the Friday night before graduation, not on the Saturday after the ceremony.
Still someone has been actively promoting the rumor, as this poster indicates:
Even Visit Savannah admits to being “punked” by the story:
We’re hearing this might have been a joke! If so, we got punked! 😉 RT @visitsavannah: WHOA. Mumford & Sons in Forsyth Park on June 1st!
— Visit Savannah (@VisitSavannah) April 9, 2013