By Daniel Makauskas & Patrick Dietrich

Verge Campus Tour brought Chance The Rapper to KU on Oct. 18 for the first big-name-artist-concert in five years. The sold-out crowd filled Schaeffer Auditorium with excitement.

“I was excited about him coming and the fact that KU is finally getting larger named artists to come,” said student Thad Picklo.

After opening acts “Young & Sick” and “Sweater Beats” warmed up the crowd, nothing could settle the students except for the man they came to see.

Chance took the stage to a chorus of cheers and opened with one of his lesser-known songs, “Pusha Man.” This upbeat anthem set the tone for an evening that included brand new snapbacks being thrown into the crowd, backstage passes being distributed freely, and one bold student attempted to climb onto the stage.

Chance slowed down the pace of his set list and decided to experiment by playing a brand new song. He didn’t reveal the title, but Chance noted how he enjoyed “trying out new songs on people between the ages of 18 and 21” because he believes they give the most honest opinions.

Chance took a moment before the new song to present the chorus on the projection screen to the audience, which read, “I believe that if I fly, I’ll probably end up somewhere in paradise.” He revealed that this song and many others will be featured on his upcoming project.

A number of students felt that Chance The Rapper wasn’t what they had been hoping for.

“I honestly wasn’t excited for the concert at all,” said student, Jess Morrow. “It’s not a genre I listen to and I had never heard of him before, and I know quite a few people who felt the same way.”

Student Chelsea Beaver shared similar feelings.

“I never heard of him until he came to Kutztown,” she said.

The concert was the main event of the Verge Campus Tour, which visited more than 20 colleges and universities across the U.S. This was another reason that some students felt the Homecoming show “didn’t feel special,” as one anonymous student said.

The last concert KU hosted was Jack’s Mannequin in April 2010. SGB hopes to continue bringing artists to KU.