On Oct. 15, the Student Programming Board (SPB) announced on Instagram that Waka Flocka Flame and DJ Whoo Kid will headline their Halloween concert. Waka Flocka Flame is a rapper with hits like “No Hands” and “Grove Street Party,” and DJ Whoo Kid has worked with prominent artists like 50 Cent. It was also announced that Kodie Shane, a breakout hip-hop star who was a part of Lil Yachty’s Sailing Team, will be the opening act. The concert will be hosted on the Jim Potter Intramural Field on Saturday, Oct. 30, and the doors will open at 6 p.m.

Maximillian Armitage, senior and SPB Concerts co-chair, expanded upon how he hopes the concert will be a great, memorable experience for Trinity students.

“When I had my welcome week concert, it was really cool,” Armitage said. “I got to meet a bunch of the friends that I had throughout my freshman year, and it was just a wonderful experience to connect [with] Trinity students. That’s like the main goal overall. As long as people are coming together … in a safe, fun way.”

The COVID-19 pandemic and cancellation issues have prevented the annual SPB concert from occurring for the last couple of years. SPB is looking to change that streak this year with the Halloween concert.

“It’s been two, maybe even three years since we’ve had anything like this,” said Mona Mirpour, director of SPB. “Obviously, programming has continued to happen, both with [SPB] and outside [organizations], but the concert as a whole really is an opportunity for the entire campus to get together.”

“The artists we’re bringing can be pretty hype, so that’s an exciting aspect,” Armitage said. “I hope that [students] get out, meet people [and] enjoy the concert. It should just be a fun night for Trinity students.”

SPB’s concert committee has been planning for months to prepare for a successful and safe event.

“It was my first time on the concert committee, and I didn’t really realize how extensive the process is,” Cal Hunter, SPB Concerts co-chair said. “There’s a lot of things you don’t think really go into a concert … in terms of planning, things like the stage, the lighting [and] setup in terms of the artist, like his hotel.”

The SPB Concerts committee has overcome several challenges over the past several months of planning, like their lack of concert planning experience due to the pandemic and, most significantly, the ever-changing COVID-19 health protocols.

“We just have a lack of experience … so that’s been hard just managing, ‘What do we do? How do you actually [plan a concert]?’” Armitage said. “We were all new to this, so we’re just doing our best … me and my two co-chairs, Sam and Cal.”

Hunter expanded upon the unpredictability of planning a large event during a pandemic.

“I think the hardest part was that uncertainty because we were planning a concert, but also in the back of our mind, [we were] worried that it wouldn’t even happen and all the work from the summer that we have put into it would be, in a sense, wasted,” Hunter said. “Luckily, the numbers for Trinity have seemed to be pretty good thus far.”

The concerts team committee has been meeting with the nerve center biweekly to discuss protocols and has consulted with the risk management team to assure everyone involved will be safe. Armitage, Mirpour and Hunter all emphasized the importance of maintaining a safe environment at the concert but also balancing that with fun and entertainment for Trinity students.

Armitage shared that students can enter a raffle competition to meet Waka Flocka Flame on SPB’s Instagram, @tu_spb.

“It’s like a little meet and greet. You get to say hello, shake their hand, take a photo and then move on. It should be neat,” Armitage said.

In the coming weeks, there will be more information about the food truck and the raffles posted in Coates Student Center and across campus.