Ever wonder what it would be like to work on one of the largest-grossing concert tours in the world? On March 13, a select group of SLU students will get to do just that when Bon Jovi’s “Because We Can” tour takes over the Scottrade Center.
After implementing a successful internship program during their last tour, the Bon Jovi crew decided once again to give a select group of college students the unique opportunity to spend a day learning the ins and outs of tour life when Bon Jovi comes to their city.
According to Mike Savas, management coordinator for the Bon Jovi “Because We Can” tour, the group seeks out student leaders making a positive impact on their community and who may be interested in a future career in music, public relations or media to serve as a Bon Jovi crew member for the day. Most importantly, they look for students who embody a “because we can” spirit and mindset.
“We wanted to find students who are really out there making a positive change, give them a nice reward, which would be a free concert ticket, a look backstage, and get some really great hands-on experience helping put together one of the largest shows in live entertainment right now,” Savas said.
Students help out with anything from ticketing, fan club and VIP events, security or marketing and PR.
“This year is much more hands-on than the previous internship program. [Students] will be working with the tour intimately, and that changes every day depending on the needs of the market,” Savas said. “More often than not, they’ll be dealing with the fans. So we’re considering the interns event coordinators for the day.”
The two lucky SLU students who will be working on the tour come March are junior Molly Rippinger and senior Kristen Miano, both of whom were nominated by professor Avis Meyer to take part in the program.
Miano grew up listening to Bon Jovi, knows the words to most of his songs by heart and claimed her mother would disown her if she let this opportunity pass her by. However, she is most excited to get into the photography pit at the concert.
“You can’t get much closer to the action than that. I occasionally take photos for the [University News] newspaper, so this is a dream come true for me, as an amateur photographer,” Miano said.
Rippinger, who is studying journalism and media at SLU, is most excited to experience a side of the industry that she hasn’t been able to see before.
“I’ve never really considered all that goes into a major concert like that of Bon Jovi,” Rippinger said. “Getting to see the concert at the end of the night while knowing what work went into the logistics of the performance will be fascinating. Getting a glimpse of Bon Jovi up close wouldn’t be a bad thing, either!”