22-year-old singer The Kid LAROI will headline WILD. (Photo courtesy of United Talent Agency)

Australian singer-songwriter The Kid LAROI is set to headline the Spring 2026 WILD (Walk In, Lay Down) at 6 p.m. Friday, April 24, on Mudd Field. 

Best known for his 2021 single “Stay” with Justin Bieber, LAROI’s sophomore album, “Before I Forget,” was released in January. 

Pop and hip-hop duo MKTO, with their 2013 double-platinum hit “Classic,” and student band Underpass will open this year’s performance. 

WILD tickets will be distributed at several locations in the days leading up to the Friday evening performance. In hopes of mitigating long lines, Student Union’s (SU) Social Programming Board (SPB) is piloting a kiosk-based sign-in process. Tickets for undergraduates are free; graduate students will be able to purchase tickets for $20 in-person and $22 online.

Tickets will be available on Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23 at the Danforth University Center (DUC) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Edison Theatre from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets will also be available for pickup on Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Village, Clocktower, and First-Year Finale Party. Due to safety concerns, students will not be able to receive tickets at the door. 

LAROI was the third-most popular choice of the 4,266 votes that were cast in the SPB Spring WILD survey, with Jason Derulo as students’ top artist, followed by Halsey. LAROI was chosen after Derulo’s quoted performance fee was found to be over SPB’s budget, and Halsey cited concerns about performing at an outside venue, according to SPB concerts chair, senior Kiely McEnery.

McEnery has been in near-daily contact with LAROI’s team since LAROI was chosen as the headliner, but delays in communication and contract negotiations pushed back the announcement date.

“I know students were not thrilled with the delay in release this year…. If it weren’t for the waiting back and forth to get contracts, we could have released [the artist during the] first week of March,” McEnery said.

For the first time since 2019, SPB is reintroducing WILD Week in the lead-up to the performance, featuring events highlighting the history of the performance. Attendants of WILD Week events will earn an entry into a raffle for tickets to a VIP tent with free food and lounging areas during the performance, as well as raffle baskets with gift cards to local businesses and Live Nation concert tickets. 

“Since so many people don’t understand why it’s called Walk In, Lay Down because obviously, no one is laying down at WILD, we thought it’d be fun to take it back to the roots, but also still keep WILD itself the same,” McEnery said.

Following a year of financial belt-tightening across the University, SPB has reevaluated its budget to better balance its spending between quality artists and costs. The allocated talent budget for this spring’s WILD was $320,000, the same amount as last year and almost double the budget of the performance in 2024.

“What we try to do is provide the maximum that we can within the financial limitations that we have,” SPB president, senior Shannon Rao said. “We really try to push hard [and] appeal whenever we can to make sure that students’ experiences aren’t compromised due to the [University-wide] budget cuts.”

Traditionally held in Brookings Quad, WILD has migrated toward the west end of campus in recent years, with Joey Bada$$ performing in the Field House after a turn in weather conditions in 2024 and Flo Rida performing on Mudd Field in 2025. According to McEnery, the change in venue has allowed for a greater attendance capacity of 6,000 students and smoother security logistics.

“I think students have liked [Mudd Field] better, because they always end up in the mosh pit, but there’s a little bit more space to kind of spread out and just kind of roam a bit.”

Although the main priority of WILD is to provide a fun environment for students, security and safety are also paramount for event organizers.

“I think the biggest thing is to just please be safe. I know there’s a lot that goes on beforehand, and I get it. I know it’s a big event, and everyone wants to have fun, just be safe,” McEnery said. “I know there was a big issue of pushing last year, so hopefully people aren’t shoving too much, but we’ve really tried to put students at the center of this and make sure it’s what they want, and we just really, really hope they have a great time.”

Rao echoed McEnery’s sentiments, noting that she hopes WILD serves as a space for WashU students to come together and celebrate the end of the academic year.

“It’s a great time to relax, and it’s the last day of classes,” Rao said. “I think WashU students are very academic in a sense; they’re very career-focused. So we want to create a space where students can really put down these responsibilities for maybe a night or so, and then really enjoy the atmosphere [of] the entire undergraduate body coming together and celebrating their moment… making them feel like part of a larger community, and really building that sense of WashU students as [an] entire identity for the student body as a whole.”