CUAB's outdoor Jubilee concert draws thousands

If the wall separating South Road from Hooker Fields was any indication, Rae Sremmurd’s on-campus performance Saturday was a success.

The wall was filled with fans who presumably found the $5 ticket price too high. The sold-out Carolina Union Activities Board Jubilee concert Saturday offered free popsicles, light-up beach balls and headline act Rae Sremmurd.

The show, which was held on Hooker Fields, was the first Jubilee concert since Johnny Cash and the Temptations played on UNC’s campus in 1971.

“I think students had a really good time,” said senior Gabe Chess, outgoing president of CUAB. “I know the artists had a great time and were really appreciative of the fun crowd.”

The board’s refusal to grant the duo’s request in their contract for two spicy crunch Doritos tacos from Taco Bell ignited a social media campaign, including a tweet from Rae Sremmurd’s own account asking to #GiveJxmTacos.

Students offered to bring tacos to the concert if CUAB would not provide them. The group appeased the demands at 3 p.m. Saturday, tweeting a photo of several tacos for the duo’s green room.

“A bunch of my close friends really wanted to go, and I didn’t want to miss out,” said sophomore Rebecca Hoffman. “I think it was a really smart decision to have it outside. It was a really great night for it, the weather was nice.”

The Department of Public Safety cited two people for consuming alcohol on Hooker Fields on Saturday between 7:50 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. Another person was cited for fighting at 8:46 p.m. at Hooker Fields on Saturday. Students could enter the fields beginning at 6 p.m.

“When you do shows late at night at that time with an artist who is very much party-oriented, it’s certainly is a risk and reality,” Chess said. “We had a bag check, and we had plans set in to minimize the amount of illegal things brought in, but I have no doubt that students are very creative.”

Many students were glad CUAB was able to nab a hip-hop artist.

“I think it’s really cool they got a hip-hop artist because I know a lot of students really appreciate that,” Hoffman said. “But I think maybe next year they should try to get someone from a different genre.”

Sophomore Emily Crockett enjoyed the performance by Rome Prize, a disc jockey that played older songs between Well$ and Rae Sremmurd’s performances.

“It was a really awesome atmosphere to hang out and see people,” Crockett said. “They had the Styrofoam things from Late Night with Roy, and they passed those out. They had bouncy balls and they passed out Popsicles which was really nice.”

CUAB issued 2,450 tickets for Saturday’s concert. The group’s fall Homecoming concerts — which featured the country band Gloriana and hip-hop artist Earl Sweatshirt — collectively drew fewer than 900 people.

“Hopefully, this excites students, and it’s really a wonderful part whether you’re a senior and it’s your last two weeks of college or if you’re a freshman kicking off your time here,” Chess said.

Chess said students seemed to appreciate that the concert was held outdoors.

“I think students like the outdoor shows. I think we’ve seen that there’s a good response to that,” he said.

But Chess said the venue did present some challenges.

“There was a very significant echo off the Eddie Smith Field House in the back,” he said. “Weather was wonderful yesterday, but if it hadn’t been wonderful, students wouldn’t have been as happy.”

Crockett said she would attend another concert hosted by the activities board.

“It was really fun, and I would definitely want to go again, and I was glad they brought Jubilee back,” Crockett said.

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