CAB announces Tigerfest 2020 headliner
By: Grace Coughlan, Assistant Arts & Life Editor
Screenshot by Meghan Hudson/ The Towerlight
Tigerfest is an annual week-long event held by Towson University’s Campus Activities Board (CAB). It features arts, athletics, academics, an outdoor festival, a concert at SECU Arena, and concludes with The Big Event.
CAB announced the headliner for Tigerfest 2020 following their “Battle of the Bands” event on Tuesday, Feb. 20. Roddy Ricch will perform this year at SECU Arena on April 24 at 7 p.m.
Following the announcement, CAB opened pre-sale tickets for Towson students online. Within 24 hours, both the floor seating area and the lower bowl seating area were sold out.
“I believe the headlining artist has made a huge impact on the anticipation for this year’s concert,” said Sequoia Williams, Director of CAB. “Brainstorming artists to bring to Towson is always the hardest part of planning because you’re trying to find one person that would grab the interest of 22,000 students.”
Roddy Ricch is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter that released “Feed Tha Streets II,” in November 2018. It rose to No. 67 on the Billboard 200 chart. Ricch, along with Hit-Boy, were featured on Nispey Hussle’s album “Racks in the Middle,” which earned a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in January 2020.
Ricch most recently released “Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial,” his debut album, on Dec. 6, which debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 list.
“I slightly increased the Tigerfest budget from the amount of previous years because I already had visions of bringing someone popular to our campus,” Williams said. “Once I finally chose Roddy Ricch, I faced a lot of back and forth with solidifying his contract — from pricing all the way to competing festivals and other schools. Once Roddy was chosen, our middle agent, who works with Ram’s Head, contacted his agency and did most of the heavy lifting.”
According to Williams, the reactions she’s received from students have been all positive.
“I only knew about Roddy Ricch from his songs that blew up on TikTok,” said Samantha Hernandez, a Towson University student. “I think since he recently went viral, it’s exciting that we get to see him live amidst the hype.”
According to Williams, Ricch was requested by many students.
“The energy during our reveal was amazing.” Williams said. “Months before booking him, our mentions would be filled with his name. The students are very excited to see him and so are we.”
TU student, Katherine Marszalek, says she is happy that Towson hosts Tigerfest annually.
“I think Tigerfest week is a great event for Towson because it allows students to enjoy live music without having to pay a crazy amount of money to see an artist they like,” Marszalek said. “There are also great events that go on during Tigerfest week that brings the campus together. I also think it adds to the college experience. It gives the students something different to do and something people can possibly bond over.”
Tickets are currently on pre-sale until March 5 for the upper bowl at $25 per ticket with a valid TU ID number.
