The Student Activities Committee (SAA) announced through their Instagram, @saacolgate, that the concert headliner for Fall Fest will be American-Jamaican rapper and singer Sean Kingston. The concert will be held at Cotterell Court on Saturday, Oct. 29 and doors will open at 9:30 p.m., according to an Instagram post from Oct. 22. The all-male a capella group, the Colgate Thirteen, will also be opening for Sean Kingston from 9:30 p.m. – 9:45 p.m.

The process of getting an artist to perform at Fall Fest started at the beginning of June and has been a nearly 5-month long process, according to Sophomore Elsa O’Brien, the SAA entertainment committee director. 

“Danny Arias, the co-President of Brothers, Marco Greico, the SGA Treasurer, and Shane Knopp, the SGA President, and I had been thinking about doing a Fall mini-Springfest — a Fall Fest — concert, so we all started communicating and working out the essential details of the concert,” O’Brien said.

The SAA then worked to find organizations across campus that would help co-sponsor the event, in order to represent various voices and identities across campus, according to O’Brien. Once co-sponsors were finalized, they worked with a talent agency that helped them find an artist within the University’s budget.  

“Because SAA is facilitating the concert, and really wants to give power to the co-sponsors representing students across campus, only the co-sponsoring organizations voted. I did not,” O’Brien said. “In the end, Sean Kingston was every organization’s first or second choice, and all representatives and I are really happy with the result.” 

No tickets are required to go to the concert, and students are encouraged to go to the Fall Fest event in Starr Rink arena beforehand.

Junior Hayden Gilbert expressed his excitement for the event, claiming that the concert will be a good way for students to unwind during a busy time in the semester.

“I love Sean Kingston and have listened to his music since I was young,” Gilbert said. “I think it was super generous to surprise the student body with such a fun event after a long month of midterms. I will be looking forward to seeing him perform all week!”