Column: Jubilee performers ranked from worst to slightly acceptable

This weekend, rapper 6LACK (pronounced black) will take the stage in Carmichael Arena as the headlining act at the Carolina Union Activities Board’s spring Jubilee concert. 

Once a springtime staple at Carolina, the Jubilee concert was recently revived by CUAB in 2015, after the organization made the decision to permanently forgo a fall homecoming concert in order to save money for a larger spring performance.

However, that plan has produced mixed results so far when it comes to the artists seen on stage in the four years since the show’s rebirth. While the traditional homecoming concert brought in acts like John Legend, J. Cole and Passion Pit, to name a few, the spring hasn’t had the same draw, at least not yet.

With 6LACK slated for this weekend, the up-and-coming Grammy-nominated rapper has the potential to deliver the best performance the new and “improved” Jubilee has seen and top the newly created power ranking of every Jubilee performance since the show’s revival.

4. Chase Rice – 2016

One of these things is not like the others, and his name is Chase Rice. It’s no secret that CUAB completely missed the mark in 2016. After offering students a poll listing Rice among artists like The Weeknd, Schoolboy Q, Capital Cities, Fetty Wap, PartyNextDoor, Future, Odesza, Twenty One Pilots, it’s clear we were given the least of those options. Don’t get me wrong, we love supporting Carolina alumni like Rice, and the tie-in to hold the former linebacker’s concert on the same day as the football team’s spring game was a nice touch, but this one just didn’t get the job done. 

3. Waka Flocka Flame – 2018

In 2018, Mother Nature took the fate of the Jubilee concert into her own hands and punished CUAB for making such a boring selection as Waka Flocka Flame. After the questionable decision to host the concert outdoors on Hooker Fields, CUAB put the ball in Mother Nature’s court and she answered with 39-degree temperatures and nonstop rain. Couple that with the fact that you can catch Waka literally three times a year in Carrboro and it was an easy decision to sit this one out. I wouldn’t be surprised if my guy starts up a residency at Cat’s Cradle. 

2. 2 Chainz – 2017

In 2017, it looked like CUAB had finally gotten things right. 2 Chainz was a big-name performer on the verge of releasing a new album – what more could you ask for? Except, they forgot to check the date, and the concert ended up falling on the same day and time as the Tar Heels’ Final Four game against Oregon. The result was an abbreviated concert with live-streams of the game on projectors. It’s hard to schedule around a hypothetical event months in advance, and CUAB did its best, but with a little more foresight this easily would have been number one on the list. 

1. Rae Sremmurd – 2015

Now, this one was before my time, so I’m just going off urban legends passed down for generations. In 2015, CUAB made the decision to bring back the Jubilee concert for the first time since 1971, when Johnny Cash and Temptations took the stage. By switching to a homecoming comedy show in the fall, the budget for the spring concert would supposedly allow them to bring in bigger names, like their first headliner, Rae Sremmurd. The concert was held in the evening at a sold out Hooker Fields, and fans even lined the street along South Road to get a peek at the duo. With a popular artist, affordable $5 tickets and the buzz surrounding the event’s revival, it’s easy to see why this year was such a hit.

@zach_goins

arts@dailytarheel.com