News, On campus

SOLO concerts return with Ludacris

The Student Government Association’s SOLO concert returns to Tech for the first time since the pandemic began. Three-time Grammy Award winner Ludacris is scheduled to perform in the Hooper Eblen Center on Thursday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. He will also be performing with special guest, singer and rapper Bryce Vine.

Ludacris has been in the music industry since the early 2000s and has collaborated with other big names such as Usher, Justin Bieber, and Nicki Minaj. The rapper has released 8 studio albums – the first 5 reached multi-platinum status. As an actor, he is most notable for his role as Tej Parker in the “Fast & Furious” franchise.

SGA’s public relations director Dawson Davidson said Ludacris was chosen to perform for many reasons.

“The first being the student body each semester votes on artists within that semester’s music genre. If we can host the most popular artist, that is always who we go with, but especially with COVID and budgets, sometimes that is altered,” Davidson said. “We also want to host an artist that is enjoyed and well-known.”

SGA members are both excited and hopeful for the first SOLO concert in years.

“We are so happy to be having an in-person SOLO concert again. We hope the many students that haven’t ever been to one due to COVID have an amazing time,” Davidson said. “These concerts are a major highlight of the semester for many students and we can’t wait to show everyone what we have been working on!”

Students have begun to look forward to the show for various reasons. For some, it will be a much-needed stress reliever from classes.

TaMya Jackson, a freshman majoring in chemistry, said, “As you can probably guess, chemistry is not very easy, and I tend to overwork myself a lot and don’t spend a lot of time on myself. I feel like this is something that will take some of that stress and overwhelming feeling off of me.”

One of the many things that Jackson anticipates is the atmosphere. “Everyone at the concert is there to have a good time. So, I’m most looking forward to all the positivity it’ll bring,” said Jackson.