After almost two months of uncertainty, Binghamton University’s fall concert with rapper 21 Savage has officially been canceled.
The concert, originally scheduled for Nov. 15, was canceled after a winter storm hit Binghamton, dropping roughly 10 inches of snow and canceling classes. In a B-Alert statement sent out minutes before doors were set to open for the concert, the University announced that the concert would be “rescheduled for a later date.”
The announcement of the cancellation arrived in the inboxes of ticket holders on Jan. 7. According to Michael Majewski, ticket sales manager for Binghamton University Athletics, all ticket holders will receive refunds, a process that began on Jan. 8. While those who paid for their tickets with a credit card will receive refunds automatically, ticket holders who paid in cash will need to return their tickets to the Events Center for a refund to be issued.
It is unclear what ultimately led to the concert’s cancellation. Majewski wrote in an email that the Student Association Programming Board (SAPB) and representatives of 21 Savage came to the cancellation after finding it impossible to successfully reschedule; however, Courtney Mitchell, the Student Association’s vice president for programming and a senior majoring in computer science, wrote in an email to Pipe Dream in December that he could not “legally disclose” any information about the concert’s rescheduling or cancellation, raising questions of legal complications between the University and the artist’s representatives.
“It was difficult to work with three schedules — the academic calendar where you can’t fit in dates with the school year, 21 Savage’s tour schedule and the Event Center’s game schedule,” said Majewski. “With so many moving pieces, it was hard to find a date that works with everyone.”
Mitchell could not be reached for comment about the cancellation of the concert.
Daniel Morales, an undeclared freshman, said he’s disappointed by the cancellation but appreciated efforts to reschedule it after the show was postponed.
“21 is one of my favorite artists, but the concert was just too good to be true,” Morales said. “If it took this long to announce the refunding of tickets, the SAPB must have been trying to work out a rescheduling that just fell apart.”
Others, like Allison Suttenberg, an undeclared freshman, are relieved to hear the confusion and uncertainty surrounding ticket refunds has been resolved.
“We were kept in the dark for so long and I was worried that refunds would never be issued,” Suttenberg said. “I’m disappointed in the cancellation but glad that our money is back at least.”
Chloe Levine, an undeclared freshman, said she hopes that this cancellation will lead to a more extravagant Spring Fling.
“Maybe [the] University can make up for the lack of a fall concert by booking more musical guests to the Spring Fling,” she said.