Updated: April 19, 2022 at 9:31 p.m.
Swae Lee delivered an electric performance as the headliner of Spring Fling at University Yard last Saturday, bringing back the University’s seasonal concert for the first time since the show was canceled in 2020 as the pandemic broke out.
Swae flew around the stage like a ball of energy sporting a GW tricorn hat and showing off his spectacular stage presence while performing crowd favorites like “Come Get Her” for roughly an hour at the show, which was hosted by Program Board. The festival kicked off with singer-songwriter Sophie Holohan and DJ Sam Feldt who rallied the slowly growing crowd of students eager to catch the main event of Swae’s performance.
Spring Fling marked Swae’s second campus appearance after he showed his support at a men’s basketball game in 2020. He posted a tweet announcing his appearance at the concert late last month, leaking the information prior to Program Board’s official statement on March 29.
After the gates opened at 3:30 p.m., the crowd was still building with only about 300 students. Stations of free food, like popcorn, snow cones and pizza, along with t-shirts and airbrush tattoos lined U-Yard.
Holohan, a 19-year-old from San Jose, California, opened up the show with a line of covers, including a slowed-down version of “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo and “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. Holohan told the audience that Spring Fling was her first time playing a show that large, but her nerves didn’t get the best of her.
“I’ve never done anything like this,” she said in an interview. “So I’m really excited and really grateful for the opportunity.”
[gwh_image id=”1163001″ credit=”Auden Yurman | Assistant Photo Editor” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”][/gwh_image]
Holohan’s music career started to flourish after her song, “Butterfly Effect,” went viral on TikTok with more than 29,000 plays, boosting her music career more into mainstream media. She said she gives credit to TikTok for helping her pave the way for her career.
“TikTok is not a consistent platform, like if you’re on top one day, you may not be on top the next day in terms of views and things like that,” Holohan said. “But it’s definitely an incredible way to open doors and expose people to your music and promote stuff that you’re creating.”
After Sophie wrapped up her performance, Sam Feldt, a DJ from Boxtel, Netherlands, performed an hourlong set with EDM mashups of Alessia Cara’s “The Middle,” Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” and Tate Mcrae’s “ABCDEFU” before ending the show with Adele’s “Easy on Me.”
Feldt’s show helped to ramp up the crowd’s anticipation ahead of Swae’s set. Purple strobe lights lit up the stage, and the smoke from onstage machines filled the air.
The audience fed off of Feldt’s lively and comedic stage presence as he jumped up and down, pointed to the audience and encouraged students to dance along with him. His bass-heavy electric set was a thrill for the buzzing crowd.
Before Swae’s performance, the audience noticeably grew in size and attendees chattered in anticipation, filling up about a third of U-Yard.
As he entered the stage, Swae yelled “What’s up GW!” and “This is the moment right here, GW!” into his microphone, exuding intense energy as he ran throughout the stage. The crowd cheered especially loud when Swae sang “Sunflower,” and “Unforgettable,” two of his more popular hits.
[gwh_image id=”1163003″ credit=”Rachel Schwartz | Staff Photographer” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”][/gwh_image]
He also sang several songs from his duo Rae Sremmurd, including “Powerglide” and “Come Get Her.” Swae dedicated “Come Get Her” to the single ladies in the crowd, which prompted fans to start rushing to the front to try to get his attention as he blew kisses to women in the audience.
But the crowd was the most enraptured at the opening of “Black Beatles,” Rae Sremmurd’s top hit, which became the theme song for the Mannequin Challenge, a popular video trend from 2016 in which participants would freeze in action as the camera moved around them. As this song began to play, Swae and the audience gave their own rendition of the challenge as some students joined him standing frozen in a mid-run position for about 30 seconds.
Swae fed off the audience to fuel his invigorating performance. Occasionally jumping in front of the barrier to sing inches away from the crowd, Swae would snap pictures and film videos of the crowd using students’ phones and call out the fans who sang all the words and enthusiastically danced to his songs.
[gwh_image id=”1163002″ credit=”Auden Yurman | Assistant Photo Editor” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”][/gwh_image]
At one point, he tried to bring a few audience members on stage, but much to his – and the crowd’s – dismay, security declined.
The TikTok-famous “This Could Be Us” sent the crowd into a frenzy during Swae’s set – everyone in the audience knew the chorus, which made this specific song stick out among the rest. Despite the rapper’s feature on Travis Scott’s hit song “SICKO MODE,” Swae left the Grammy-award winner out of his setlist. Students in the audience were screaming, “Play SICKO MODE!” but to no avail. The song was left untouched.
Swae was not only extremely spirited but captivated the audience, immersing them in his performance. He sang nearly all of his greatest hits, and his enthusiasm and love for performing showed through his set during the intimate performance.
While students were antsy during the long wait for the headlining performance in the 45-degree weather, the openers kept the crowd engaged, and Swae put on a dynamic and lively show the attendees are sure to remember.
Isha Trivedi contributed reporting.
This post was updated to correct the following:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that “The Middle” – one of the songs in Feldt’s mashup of hits – is by Alessia Cara. “The Middle” is by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey. We regret this error.
