The annual spring concert hosted by the Student Program Board (SPB) — an event aiming to reduce OU students’ anxiety about the upcoming final exam week and the end of the semester — was a success. The concert featured Tai Verdes and Peach Tree Rascals, bringing in 500-600 attendees.

The concert kicked off with an opening by OU Gold Vibrations A Cappella.

“It was a really exciting thing, and I was really grateful for the opportunity,” Larissa Diosdado, secretary of Gold Vibrations, said. “I was kind of nervous because I wasn’t sure if people were going to like us since we sing a capella, but the audience ended up being really into it, and it made it super fun. We haven’t had many opportunities to have performances like that due to COVID-19, so it was really nice to have to experience, and we all were just genuinely having fun with each other. I think our performance went really well, and you can definitely tell that we’re all having a lot of fun with each other, which really warms my heart to see.”

Their performance was followed by Peach Tree Rascals and Tai Verdes’ performances.

“The concert after was incredible,” Diosdado said. “Both artists did an amazing job at performing and being interactive with each other and the crowd, definitely an experience that I would consider a core memory.”

Kaleigh Belz, vice president and annual events director of SPB, mentioned the crowd had amazing energy and the turnout was spectacular.

“It was an amazing night with a great turnout,” Kaleigh Belz, vice president and annual events director of SPB, said. “All of our students seemed to enjoy it immensely and the crowd had great energy — singing, dancing and getting involved with the music and the artists that were brought in.”

According to Belz, SPB has been hosting the Spring Concert since around 2007. Their first step with getting the performers always involves identifying the availability of artists, what artists OU students might enjoy and moving on to working with agents of the artists. SPB has always tried to attract artists and talent that are on the rise, usually right before they go “viral.”

“While this is an event that we try to put on annually, Oakland has never actually put on a concert of this magnitude outside of the amphitheater,” Belz said.

Drake, BlackBear and KYLE are some examples of the artists the SPB booked for the past Spring Concerts.

“For this year, it’s been a super unique experience, as we are coming back to in-person events, and we’re switching away from our typical spring concert venue to be indoors and more heavily directed towards our students,” Belz said. “I know SPB is looking forward to bringing more talent and artists to campus in the future, and we’re always on the lookout for up and coming talent that the students will enjoy. Our goal is always to make programming fun and engaging, truly embodying the idea that campus can exist outside of just the classroom, and creating memories for students.”

SPB will be hosting other events before the end of the semester according to Belz, including ZUZU African Acrobats for Stress Less on April 14. For more information, visit GrizzOrgs.