Lil Yachty named Tigerfest 2023 headliner

By: Caitlyn Freeman, Editor in Chief 

Rapper Lil Yachty will be the headliner of the 2023 TigerFest concert, Towson University’s Campus Activities Board announced Wednesday.

The show, which will be held at SECU Arena on April 28, will be opened by Rappers NoCap and Young Nudy.

TigerFest, an annual event hosted by the Activities Board’s, was headlined by Rapper Rico Nasty in April 2022 and attended by 2,600 people. The Board announced this year’s performers during an event at PAWS Cafe. 

Zion Albright, director of the Activities Board, said they chose the lineup two weeks ago and struggled to get an artist booked.

“I hope [students are] excited,” she said. “They’re looking forward to it, especially with us having more artists than we usually do.”

Lil Yachty, born Miles McCollum, gained popularity in 2015 when he released his song “One Night” and “Lil Boat” album in 2016. His latest album, “Lets Start Here,” was released in January. 

Some students said they have mixed feelings about the concert lineup.

“I feel okay about [Yachty],” Junior Mikayla Woodson said.

Freshman Kenzie Jerscheid said she was “a little disappointed” but would still attend depending on the ticket pricing. She said she would’ve preferred a different artist like Rapper Lil Baby.

“I like Lil Yachty, not going to lie,” Freshman Angel Starks said. She also said her attendance is dependent on ticket prices.

Similarly, Jordan Colquitt, president of the Student Government Association said he’s looking forward to the concert as he really enjoyed McCollum’s latest album.

“I’m really excited,” he said.

To select an artist, Activities Board adviser Tom Judd said the organization surveys students and makes a list of the most voted-for artists. From there, they take the list and try to book the most voted-for artist but will sometimes fail to reach an agreement with them.

Judd said sometimes an artist wants more money to perform than the board can give, or they can’t make the concert date fit within their schedule.

“We’re pigeonholed to a day and a time,” he said.

Typically, the board, who’s funded through student fees, spends anywhere from $25,000 to $135,000 on the event. Judd said the organization is paying $225,000 for this year’s lineup.

The university has a long history of spring concerts and celebrations, Felicity Knox, university archivist, said. In Towson’s early days, an annual May Day celebration was held each spring through the 1960s but eventually lost popularity with students.

Knox said the first Springfest occurred in 1974. TigerFest was first mentioned in a 1988 edition of The Towerlight. 

This story may be updated.

Correction: a previous version of this story had the wrong concert date. The Towerlight regrets this error. The story has been updated to reflect the correct date.

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