Bradley students showed Macklemore and Ryan Lewis the “same love” as Wiz Khalifa when they performed last night in Renaissance Coliseum.
The Macklemore and Ryan Lewis concert sold out only hours before the show began, with the final attendance count at 3,381 people and lasted two hours. Concert-goers left the show with favorable reviews.
“I thought [the show] was awesome,” Chris Spadafora, a senior industrial engineering major, said. “Probably one of the best concerts that I have been to.”
Students attending the concert said they enjoyed the way Macklemore interacted with the crowd, especially when he crowd surfed during his encore.
“That was poetry in motion,” Jason Banks, a sophomore computer information systems major, said. “By far one of the best live performers. [Macklemore] poured his soul out.”
The Activities Council of Bradley University (ACBU) decided on the concert, which was announced Oct. 12 after sending a survey with a list of potential artists to the student body with the request that students vote on the performer of their choice.
“I knew a few of his songs,” Caroline Letzel, a sophomore public relations major, said. “But it was cool to actually see him live … it was cool that he was [on] our campus.”
ACBU President Jackie Myers, a junior journalism major, said by sending the survey, the organization was able to consider all of campus’ preferences.
“This is the second year that we sent out a survey to the students,” Myers said. “We really wanted to integrate Bradley as a whole into the process of picking [the performer] instead of having three people decide what we think campus wants.”
After reviewing the results of the survey in which Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were the top choice, ACBU submitted an offer to the performer and negotiated the price.
Tickets sales opened to the public on Oct. 21, the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis concert sold out their public section in mid-January. Myers said the trend in ticket sales differed from last year’s ticket sales when Wiz Khalifa performed on campus.
“Macklemore and Ryan Lewis has been selling more continuously,” Myers said. “Whereas, Wiz Khalifa sold out in, like, the last two weeks and [Wiz Khalifa ticket sales] weren’t as consistent.”
Myers said because the Wiz Khalifa show did sell out, ACBU decided to extend the pit section to fit about 300 more students, which is why the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis concert did not sell out as fast.
“With Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, we extended the pit so that there [were] more tickets available so that more students can come,” Myers said.
Myers said that being able to put on an affordable, but exciting, show is rewarding because it gives Bradley students a memorable experience.
“It’s a treat for the students,” Myers said. “Seeing a four-time Grammy-winning artist.”
