On Saturday, March 3, Seattle-based hip-hop artist Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis will play a sold-out show in the Reid ballroom. The concert, which was only announced on Feb. 17, has already sparked a great amount of interest among Whitman students.
Sponsored by the Whitman Events Board, the show was scheduled thanks to the efforts of WEB’s Music Entertainment Director, senior Carissa Wagner, and Cultural Events Director, senior Arielle Paulson, both of whom sought to bring the duo here after a substantial amount of positive student feedback.
“It was really just sort of a no-brainer,” said Wagner. “We knew that it was something that’d be really popular, and [Macklemore is] obviously an artist that hits home with a lot of students, so we went for it.”
Macklemore’s appeal comes not only from his energetic sound, but also from the deeper meanings behind his lyrics, which stem from his experiences with addiction as well as his opinions on other issues.
“There’s sort of a nice activist side where he’s speaking to a lot of issues that matter to people, while at the same time he has a lot of very fun songs,” said Wagner.
Macklemore and Lewis are between tours at the moment, planning to play a set of three shows in Colorado this April. The duo, who reportedly will release a full-length album sometime this year, played 31 shows between October and December of last year as well.
“I don’t want to give too much away, but I would say that we’ve worked very, very hard on our set throughout the last two and a half years,” Lewis told The Pioneer.
Along with Macklemore and Lewis, the show will feature Sol, another Seattle hip-hop artist, as its opening act. The show will also feature other musicians, such as trumpet player Owour Arunga, who frequently works with the duo.
“[Arunga] has become kind of an essential piece of the show,” said Lewis.
Due to the hip-hop act’s wild popularity among Whitman students, the show sold out within two days, with students packing the floor of Reid Campus Center and camping out in line to secure one of the prized 500 tickets. Students can still be added to the wait list, but there is no guarantee of admission without a ticket.
Regardless of one’s familiarity with Macklemore, the show should prove to be an exciting and enjoyable experience.
“People are very stressed out at Whitman, and I think it’s always good to have a concert where they can just, like, go and have a good time and dance,” said Wagner.
“I’ve been listening to Macklemore all throughout high school, and I’ve never been able to see one of his concerts,” said first-year Julia Thompson. “I have a lot of Seattle pride and so does Macklemore, so I’m excited to feel sort of at home. I’m just so excited! I’ll be in the front!”
“It’s gonna be crazy,” Lewis promised.
