Butter pecan ice cream. The number four. Church choir. What do these three things have in common? If you don’t know, she’s going to be headlining Elizabethtown College’s very own Coachella. That’s right, the Queen B, Beyonce, will be the main event at the Office of Student Affairs’ (OSA) Coachella.
Students were excited to find out OSA signed a deal to host an Etown Coachella event. The concert will last for three days, like the actual Coachella, and will feature a few different artists. The event will happen in late August 2024, before the fall semester classes start. Students and faculty are excited for the arrival of Beyonce.
“I’m really excited for Beyonce to perform! I haven’t been to a concert since I was 10, so it’ll be a really good time,” third-year digital media production major Hannah Garinger said.
“I am so excited! I can’t wait to see Beyonce in real life,” first-year music therapy major Ryley Douglass said. Douglas is very passionate about music.
“Beyonce is such an inspiration” Douglas said.
OSA expects lots of students to be in attendance, so the concert will be taking place outside, at the Dell. Coachella is known for their outrageous outfits, so OSA encourages students to dress up for the event. However, students are not permitted to wear any blue to the concert, as it is prohibited per a rider in Beyonce’s contract.
The Blue Jay Mascot will be around for pictures with students. Beyonce also will be bringing Jay-Z and her daughter, Blue Ivy. Jay-Z and Beyonce loved Etown’s campus so much that Blue Ivy will start attending in the fall! She’ll be majoring in sports medicine.
Beyonce is rumored to perform a wide variety of her songs. “I can’t wait for her to sing ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)’,”Douglass said.
“I’m most excited for her to sing ‘Love on Top’,” Garinger said. “I will 100 percent be there.”
OSA will be providing food for students. The Jay Truck will be there, along with a few other food trucks. Most of the trucks will feature some of Beyonce’s favorite food, such as butter pecan ice cream. There will be drinks for students over the age of 21. Very few students will be working the event, as OSA does not want students to miss the concert. The cost of the tickets will be $18.99, to commemorate the year that Etown was founded. Beyonce has also paid off all students’ outstanding parking tickets.
Etown Coachella will feature some of Etown’s very own performing groups. Some of the groups include Vocalign, Melica, Sock and Buskin, Phalanx, ECDT and E-Motion.
While Beyonce is a confirmed performer, the other musical guests are still not released yet.
“I hope they get Harry Styles to perform as well!” Douglass said.
Unfortunately, Taylor Swift was not available for the event. However, Garinger said, “Niall announced on his Twitter that One Direction is getting back together for one night only at Etown Coachella!” Although they are not confirmed, One Direction is heavily rumored to be at the event.
Students have mixed opinions on Beyonce’s latest album, which features music in a country style. “I’m personally not a huge country fan, but I’m sure that it’s still great,” Garinger said.
Beyonce will be performing songs off of the new album. Etown will commemorate the event by having a statue of Beyonce built in The Dell. The statue will be modeled off of the album cover of “COWBOY CARTER.”
All students will be required to cut their summers short and move in one week sooner, to accommodate Beyonce’s schedule. Ticket sales begin April 1.
