U of M cuts Northrop's free summer concerts for 2011

​The free outdoor concert series that takes place during the lunch hour outside of the Northrop Auditorium may not continue into next year, the Minnesota Daily is reporting. According to the Daily, the budget that supports the concert series will take a 25 percent cut for next year's season, and then be eliminated all together for 2012.

The series typically featured a wide variety of local acts (Romantica, Lynhurst, Kristoff Krane, Jelloslave, France Has the Bomb, and many more played in this year's series) and was an opportunity for students and faculty at the U to take a break at midday and catch some live music. The University is concerned that not enough of students were taking advantage of the entertainment.

The "free" summer concerts at Northrop cost every fees-paying student enrolled in summer classes a little less than $12 under the category of Summer Cultural Programs, said Michelle Koker, director of Summer Session, which is one of the two University departments that oversee summer concerts at Northrop.

A Facebook group has already been set up in defense of the Northrop Plaza's summer series.