UPDATE: UAB announced that GoldLink is unable to perform and Wolfstock 2018 has been canceled. Other LDOC festivities are scheduled as planned.
With the last day of classes drawing near, so too are the festivities. The longstanding tradition of party games and a concert bring a light that students rely on to urge them forward on their descent into the dark days of finals.
Hosted every year on Stafford Commons, Wolfstock provides students with a chance to unwind with music before finals week. The nighttime concert is hosted by University Activities Board each year on the last day of class (LDOC).
This year’s Wolfstock will take place on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Before the concert, students can enjoy all-day fun activities including but not limited to a ping pong tournament, food trucks, a live DJ, inflatable games and cardio dance classes.
UAB Vice President Luis Esteves, a fourth-year studying political science, plans the homecoming activities in the fall and then the spring LDOC activities.
“I oversee community development and helping chairs develop committees and how to use them for volunteering and stuff like that or for logistics and delegating tasks,” Esteves said. “Also, I do the post-event evaluations, which is our way of trying to assess how events are handled prepared and then executed then trying to evaluate them to see where we can improve or what needs to change.”
LDOC always has students in high spirits. Lyrics from this year’s Wolfstock headliner, GoldLink, put it best: “what a time, what a year.”
The Grammy-nominated rapper will be headlining Wolfstock and the excitement is gaining. GoldLink is best known for his crowd favorite single “Crew,” a song ever-present during pre-games and Saturday night parties. Laid-back vibes and easy tunes can be expected at this year’s concert.
GoldLink released his debut mixtape, “The God Complex” in 2014, and last year, “Crew” peaked at No. 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned the artist a Grammy nomination. GoldLink began his career performing under his birth name DeAnthony Carlos.
UAB Concert and Entertainment Chair Zach Hover, a second-year studying communication, is largely responsible for putting together the spring concert. Hover shared the process of how the board selects the LDOC concert performer.
“Typically, we try to go with a pop artist so that we are mixing up genres, but this year we are trying something different with GoldLink who is obviously a rap and hip-hop artist,” Hover said. “We think it will be a good one because he’s Grammy-nominated and he’s pretty well known. We have a talent agent and they send us a list of people that will fit within our price range. We typically try to go with someone who has a song on the radio.”
Last year, Jon Bellion performed at the Wolfstock concert with R&B duo Lawrence performing as his opening act. If Bellion’s performance was any indication of how this year’s show is going to go then it is going to be a smash hit.
Most everyone can say that they are a fan of music, but add some friends and a spring night into that mix, and it’s a night worth celebrating. Wolfstock is there to remind students that it is OK to have expectations and raise ‘em on up.
