For as long as can be remembered, concerts have been to college kids what Florida is to tourists. The best-known names in the entertainment industry — be it rappers, singers, bands or comedians — always seem to possess a magnetic force, hauling in crazed fans, truckloads of revenue, and, most importantly, great nights all around.
At MSU, The Associated Students of Michigan State University and the Residence Halls Association plan many of these must-see shows. In the last few years, shows have ranged from hysterical stand-up comedy to boisterous hip hop, with names like Conan O’Brien, Drake, The Fray, Mike Posner, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and plenty more.
The most well-known performer Residence Halls Association contracted this year was Wiz Khalifa, whose expected Sept. 13 concert at Breslin Center was canceled due to a backstage shooting at another concert in August. Last year, ASMSU had to cancel the Ne-Yo concert they’d planned because of low ticket sales. Regardless of the reason for cancellation, erasing plans for something as big as a concert leaves a huge chunk of the student body with crushed hopes.
So far, a visit from the Harlem Globetrotters in January is the only major event scheduled at the Breslin. That allows time to plan another event later in the year. Whether it’s ASMSU, RHS or another group that organizes the next concert, they should know that the student body had its hopes up for the concert this fall, and that should be taken into consideration when planning.
Even though there’s no reason to thrust blame onto RHS or ASMSU, two concert cancellations in the past five months isn’t ideal, to say the least. They’re like pop quizzes — unexpected and unpleasant. One is bad enough. It’s time for redemption for the few mishaps thus far, whether that means taking a poll of four or five viable options to bring in for a performance or simply contacting as many agents as possible, picking the best available, and advertising the heck out of it. Regardless of the strategy used, the most important goal is to give the students a performance worth the wait. Like tourists, they just don’t like plans getting canceled.
Kevin Lange is an intern at The State News. Reach him opinion@statenews.com.
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