Flo Rida performed on Friday, April 22 for Fairfield University Student Association’s annual Spring Concert event which was held at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater this year.
Earlier that morning, FUSA sent out an email to students with a schedule of the event, list of items to bring and venue policies. The schedule included that food trucks at Rafferty Stadium were to arrive at 5 p.m. and close at 7:30 p.m., and loading buses was to begin at 5:30 p.m. with the last bus leaving at 7:45 p.m.
FUSA provided eighteen buses and a limited number of Uber vouchers for transportation to the event.
Many students were pleased with the accessibility of transportation provided.
“The bus there was very organized and convenient,” says Carina Kortick ‘24. Kortick took one of the first buses, which left around 6:15 p.m.
The doors to the venue opened promptly at 6:30 p.m. for attendees. Fairfield University students and guests were instructed in FUSA’s email to bring their StagCard, paper ticket and credit card as the venue does not accept cash.
Once arriving at the venue, Fairfield students and guests were granted green wristbands at the entrance in exchange for their paper ticket. These green wristbands later provided entry into the floor area, which was entirely rented out by FUSA for the event.
As reported by The Mirror last week, over 1,500 tickets were sold out of the 2,250 tickets bought by FUSA for students and guests. Everyone slowly filed in between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., gathering closely in front of the stage. D.J. Big Mike the Ruler opened from nearly 8 p.m. to a little before 9 p.m. with various mixes of pop and rap songs being played out for the crowd.
Flo Rida was welcomed on stage just before 9:30 p.m. with loud screams from the floor, as students and guests pushed against each other towards the front of the stage. The majority of students held their phones high in the air, in attempts to videotape his anticipated entrance.
The 2012 hit song “Good Feeling” blasted throughout the amphitheater as the first song played and students screamed out the lyrics in unison. White strobe lights flashed every so often throughout the song, and multicolored lights danced around the floor.
At one point, Flo Rida welcomed a large group of female students onto the stage to accompany him throughout his performance of another hit song “Low.” Elizabeth Viggiano ‘24, Maria Betancur ‘24 and Kelly Keating ‘24 were three of the larger group who joined him on stage.
“Being on stage with Flo Rida was an experience unlike any other,” says Viggiano.
“Not only was I dancing with an artist who I grew up listening to, but I looked out into a sea of all my fellow Stags. It couldn’t get much better than that!”Vinggiano states.
Similarly, Betancur and Keating enjoyed their time on stage with the pop singer.
“Being on stage was such a fun experience that I was not expecting at all,” Betancur said. “I’m so happy I got to share it with my closest friends and even made some new friends up there!”
“It was so much fun to be up on stage,” added Keating. “I did not expect that at all but it was definitely a highlight of the night!”
This was not the only group to accompany Flo Rida on stage, however. After a few more songs were played by the pop singer, a group of male students were welcomed to the stage for another hit song “GDFR.” Cameron Simmons ‘24 did not hesitate to leap at this opportunity.
“As soon as Flo Rida said to come on stage, my friends and I ran up,” he says.
“It was very high energy and a lot of fun… it was one of the most fun experiences I’ve had here at Fairfield.”
At another point during the concert, Flo Rida tossed roses out into the crowd while performing the song, “Where Them Girls At.” This captivated the audience’s attention as students began to wave their hands high in the air, pushing again towards the front of the stage, in attempts of catching one of his many roses.
The concert concluded at roughly 10:40 p.m. and within seconds of Flo Rida exiting the stage, students and guests began running towards the buses. These buses were again provided by FUSA to transport students back to the University.
Although Kortick was pleased with her arrival to the concert, catching a bus on the way back to campus was far more challenging.
“The bus back was stressful because everyone rushed them at once,” she stated. “Students were pushing each other to get on a bus and there wasn’t much organization.”
Overall, students appeared to be thrilled at this year’s Spring Concert, enjoying their experience at the event.
“The Spring Concert was a great opportunity for students to come together in celebration after so much time apart,” said Megan Murphy ‘23. “It was an event I’ve been looking forward to for three years!”
Sharing Murphy’s excitement, first-year student Tristan Lee said, “The concert was an unbelievably fun event.”
“It was amazing to see Fairfield students coming together as a community and just having a fun time after a long pandemic.”
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