Spring concerts don’t come free (anymore)

This past weekend, country superstar Morgan Wallen returned to Ole Miss campus for his long-anticipated concert at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Last year, Wallen frustrated many attendees by canceling his Sunday night show. But this time, Wallen delivered a full set list, ringing music through the rainy night on April 20.

Late April in Oxford is a season when musicians from all over journey to campus and the Square to entertain students and residents alike. The Double Decker Arts Festival is around the corner, but it is hard to forget that the university has left an event off its schedule this year — the free spring concert.

Without the spring concert, students were left without a staple Ole Miss experience. In previous years, the spring concert has hosted famous musicians such as Riley Green, PARTYNEXTDOOR and Wiz Khalifa.

This year, squirrels and studying students are the only features the Grove will host until convocation.

The Student Activities Association shared that they will not host the spring concert this year because they want the student body to take advantage of other entertainment options (Mississippi Day, Double Decker Arts Festival, etc.).

Don’t get me wrong, Double Decker is a wonderful event and concerts at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium are revolutionary, but students expect the spring concert. What better way to take in the beauty of our unique campus than by listening to famous musicians put on the performance of a lifetime in the Grove?

Wallen attracted tens of thousands to the Ole Miss campus, but because of the high prices, it was unreasonable to expect many students to enjoy the festivities.

This may represent a notorious theme plaguing Oxford: high prices. Now worse than ever, students are paying the price to enjoy the Ole Miss experience. The cost of living in Oxford has skyrocketed to an absurd level within a couple of years and off-campus housing costs have infuriated much of the student population.

Hopefully, 2025 will bring the spring concert back to the lineup of festivities at the end of the school year. If not, the Double Decker Arts Festival will have to suffice.

David Ramsey is a junior public policy leadership major from Madison, Miss.