By: Mikala McBride, staff writer
When Campus Union’s concert committee, Wofford Live, sat down to decide the line-up for the 2018 Spring Concert, they went through several ideas and genres, but ultimately decided to evaluate where interest was in the Wofford community. After sending out a poll to students, results indicated a mixture of wanting a more popular indie type of music and a rapper as the headline. After listening to music from many different artists, Wofford Live ultimately chose COIN and K-Camp to co-headline this year’s Spring Concert.
COIN is an indie pop band from Nashville, Tenn. The band has been around since 2012 and consists of four members: Chase Lawrence, Ryan Winnen, Joe Memmel and Zachary Dyke. You might recognize them from either of their two hit singles, “Run” released in 2015 or “Talk Too Much” released in 2016. The band has continued to gain mainstream attention since then, with performances at places like the Music Midtown Festival, Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, Ga., and White Oak Music Hall in Houston, Texas.
Co-headlining with COIN is K-Camp, an American rapper from Atlanta, Ga. Beginning his music career in 2009, the rapper has since gained media attention from singles like “Cut Her Off” and “Money Baby,” and also has received a nomination at the 2014 BET Hip Hop Awards. Rolling Stone magazine recognized his career when he was named the 2014 “New Artist You Need to Know.”
The Wofford reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, with many students already familiar with music by COIN and K-Camp, and very excited for the chance to hear both of them at Wofford. Rachel Rutkowski ’20, Leila Shearer ’20 and Yara Rishmawi ‘20 are excited for both of the performing artists, having seen COIN at Music Midtown last year and already familiar with some songs by K-Camp. More than that though, the three sophomores cannot wait for the Spring Concert atmosphere, with the Wofford community coming together to enjoy music and celebrate a fun night.
Even students unfamiliar with the two bands have expressed excitement after looking up the bands and familiarizing themselves with some of the music.
Alec Konrad, chair of Wofford Live, says that “students should be excited for these bands because they bring a fresh sound to Wofford,” even remarking that COIN was one of the best concerts he had ever been to because of the energy with which they play. So far, Konrad has received an overall “phenomenal response,” with many students expressing enthusiasm about the performing artists and giving him shout outs in Campus Union.
Wofford Live has also arranged for band merchandise for both COIN and K-Camp to be sold for the duration of the Spring Concert. Besides merchandise, students will also be able to purchase hot dogs, snow cones and food from the Salsarita’s food truck. Wofford Live will also be giving away a small item, but students are told that they must attend in order to find out what that item will be.
Spring Concert will be held on Saturday, May 5 at 8 p.m. in Phase 3 of the Village.
