Students and members of the Erie community attended Behrend’s spring concert to see Ludacris Friday night at the Junker Center.  The announcement for the concert pick came earlier this semester, but received a mixed reception by the Behrend community.

 

The overall attendance for the concert was considerably lower compared to last year’s spring concert, which featured Panic! at the Disco.

 

It took a while for the line of people outside Junker Center Friday afternoon to form, as there was little to no line an hour before doors were to open. However, as it slipped closer to 7 p.m., dedicated fans of Ludacris began to file outside during the chilly and windy weather, anxiously waiting to get inside for warmth. Triston Zazado, a sophomore Biology major, was one of these dedicated fans who waited in line and braved the cold. “Yeah, it’s been a while since Ludacris came out with newer songs,” Zazado said, “but I was a huge fan of him in middle school, so I’m hoping he sings some oldies like, ‘Fantasy.’” Several other fans waiting in line were excited for Ludacris to bring back some of his best songs, but still felt as if he was irrelevant to today’s rap industry.

 

Up-and-coming rapper, Ro Ransom, pumped up the crowd before Ludacris took the stage. Ro Ransom energized Ludacris fans with spitting a couple of his own tracks, including the hit, “Donuts”. Ludacris eventually made his grand entrance to the stage, performing some of his famous hits, “Move Bitch,” “Roll Out,” “How Low,” “What’s Your Fantasy,” “My Chick Bad,” and several others. Ludacris announced the release of “Fate of the Furious,” where he returns as Tej Parker, and followed with a few of his hits from the “Fast and Furious” franchise. He teased the crowd with a sneak peak of his new single, “Vitamin D,” which features Ty Dolla $ign, available now on Spotify and Apple iTunes.

 

A handful of students who were a part of the concert committee were given the opportunity to meet Ludacris before he performed. Ben Lowery, a freshman Finance and Accounting major, was apart of the security concert committee and a big fan of Ludacris. “I have been a big fan of Ludacris since the glory days of 2007, so I was extremely pumped to see him in person,” Lowery said. “Being a part of the security concert committee made me enjoy it even more due to the responsibility of making sure the show went as smoothly as possible.”

 

After the concert, several fans were pleased with the performance. Joseph Helbling, a Mechanical Engineering major, enjoyed the overall experience as he stated, “I have seen Ludacris in multiple movies, and I have never seen him in person. He appealed to the masses and he had songs that were way back to where he began.” Helbling, despite the lower attendance compared to years past, was pleased with the turnout. “I think the turnout was great. There were people from all ages,” Helbling said. “Not only did Ludacris give a solid performance, but he entertained.”

 

Brad Trevenen, a junior Creative Writing major, also was satisfied with Ludacris’s performance. “He’s just a legend and I love hip hop. I had to go and experience this when I had the chance,” he said. However, Trevenen recognized the absence in attendance for this year’s concert. “The attendance was low, but I think Erie is just too far in the middle of the Western Pennsylvania country to gain a lot of rap fans,” he said.

Long-time fans of Ludacris were not disappointed with the outcome of his performance. The energy was high, and the environment brought an overall positive atmosphere throughout the scattered crowd. Although a portion of the Behrend community did not attend this year’s spring concert, there is always next year’s concert to look forward to. Hopefully, next year’s music artist stirs up more excitement among the Behrend community.