Last Wednesday around 9:35 p.m. Associated Students Productions (ASP) announced that hip-hop star Waka Flocka Flame would no longer be performing at that Friday’s Spring Fling event. This came as a shock to all students, especially those who had waited in line for hours to claim one of the few available tickets to see Waka’s performance. In conjunction with this news, ASP also announced that Grammy-nominated artist Wale would be performing in his place.
“When I heard Waka Flocka wasn’t coming I was bummed out, but when I heard it was Wale I was even more excited because I think he is way better,” said Anna Moyer, Sonoma State University senior.
Many students had a similar reaction, however some were more satisfied with the new headliner.
“When I heard Wale was coming instead, I was even more eager to get a ticket. I grew up listening to his mixtapes,” said senior Ryan Vanvakaris.
The post ASP put out did not give any specifics as to why Waka Flocka was not able to make the show, besides saying he had to pull out of the event.
“My friends really like Wale too, but I know some younger people who didn’t know who Wale was and were upset,” said Moyer.
One of the students who wasn’t too pleased with the last minute change in artists was freshman Briana Taggert. “I was kinda mad because we all thought that Waka Flocka was coming,” Taggert said. “I looked at most of [Wale’s] songs and they were all with other people, so I was really just surprised.”
On the Facebook and Instagram posts there were several negative comments toward the artist showing the frustration that students were experiencing. Some theories were even formed speculating on why the switch occurred. One theory suggested that ASP only told people they were bringing Waka to get the ballroom full for Wale. However along with the negative theories, there were those who remained positive in hopes that the event would still be a success.
ASP began selling tickets by releasing only 400 at one time, before allowing 600 more to go on-sale. ASP released 45 more tickets the morning after the announcement, which sold out within two hours.
They also made it known that if students were unhappy with the artist change and no longer wanted to attend the concert, they could return their ticket to the box office. Still, students were scrambling to get a ticket up until the minute the show began.
“I thought his performance was different from other artists I’ve seen, a lot of crowd interaction. But it was sick to see him live,” said Vanvakaris.
Spring Fling is a tradition that ASP hopes to continue in the future by bringing new artists for the student’s enjoyment.
