Solange to perform at the Civic Center (for real this time)

The whispers are true. Solange is coming to Tallahassee, but for real this time. As part of a restitution agreement, Solange will be performing at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center and Beyoncé and Jay-Z will be openers as part of their On the Run II Tour.

The show will take place on Wednesday, April 11, five months to the date of Solange’s abrupt cancellation. Tickets will go on presale for students on April 4 at 10 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.tuckerciviccenter.com, by dialing 850-645-SHOW (7469) or at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center Box Office.

Murmurs of the resurgence of a Solange concert appeared after President John Thrasher tweeted lyrics to “Cranes in the Sky” as well as lines from “Johnson Family Vacation.” Students were wondering why a 74-year-old former state legislator would spend his weekend watching Cedric the Entertainer movies. But now we know.

Solange’s concert will be a pleasant surprise to many after being frustrated by her last-minute cancellation to perform as the Warchant headliner last semester. For those who forgot, the news broke that Solange would be headlining Warchant on October 26. This was significant for two reasons, the first one being that it would’ve made Solange the first woman to headline Warchant. The second, and arguably most controversial reason is that it altered the Country and Urban pattern of Warchant acts. 2014’s Warchant headliner was Big Sean, 2015’s was the Zac Brown Band, 2016’s was Chance the Rapper, so according to the pattern, 2017’s headliner was expected to be a Country act.

When the Solange announcement became public, a great majority of students were not pleased that they would have to endure another Warchant without acoustic guitars, cowboy hats and songs about pickup trucks used as analogies for women.

When Solange cancelled her show on Nov. 11, four days before her set performance, the outrage grew exponentially. The cancellation was said to be due to nondisclosed medical conditions, which confused many fans and students alike as the recent pictures on her Instagram at the time revealed her at an art gallery looking quite healthy and wearing yellow. Sick people don’t wear yellow, so clearly these “medical conditions” were a fabricated cop-out.

Archibald Wokenheimer, FSU Homecoming Committee’s PR chair, spoke on the roller coaster he’s experienced with getting Solange to finally come to Tally. He admitted that the day of the cancellation was a hard L for the whole committee to take.

“It really sucked because we really stuck our necks out to book her. Friendships were broken when we announced she would be headlining. My girlfriend wouldn’t talk to me for weeks.”

Wokenheimer recounted the selection process which featured prominent neo-soul acts such as SZA, Jhene Aiko and Kehlani on the table.

“We could’ve gotten Tinashe, and it would’ve been a lot cheaper to do so. But ultimately it came down to who’s more culturally significant right now. And that’s no shade to Tinashe, honest. I still bump ‘2 On’ on my Spotify playlist.’”

When asked how America’s royal family, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, were able to fit in the budget Wokenheimer revealed that The Carters were the ones eager to perform.

“Beyoncé was kind of upset that we originally went after Solange and not her, so I guess maybe she wanted to prove something to us,” Wokenheimer said. “To be honest, I would’ve rather got Ashanti, but she wouldn’t return our calls.”

The Carters opening for Solange is an unexpected occurrence and it is sure to see all of Leon County in attendance. Wokenheimer remained mum about what to expect at the concert. Rumor has it that DJ Khaled will DJ Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s set and the couple will premiere a duet diss track towards Sanaa Lathan. We’ll just have to wait and find out what comes of this.