Students gather at the fence during the spring 2022 WILD event that featured Zedd. (Elle Su | Student Life)

On Tuesday, April 11, popular hip-hop artist Flo Milli was announced as the headliner for Spring WILD. The event will take place on Mudd Field on Friday, April 28th, according to the Student Programming Board (SPB).

An Instagram video posted by SPB stated that Milli will perform at the 50th anniversary of the semiannual concert. The announcement comes after last semester’s WILD was canceled due to capacity and crowding concerns.

SPB president Miri Goodman said that the group is “really excited.” 

“There have been countless hours of hard work done by the WILD team and it seems like the hard work is paying off,” she said.

Goodman also addressed past safety concerns about overcrowding, explaining that SPB communicated with campus partners to find a solution.

“Mudd Field ended up being the best option because it is a large field that can hold a lot of people,” she said. 

At past concerts, students have not been allowed to re-enter the venue once they have exited. To mitigate that from happening on Mudd Field, Goodman said there will be 6-foot-tall fences and bike racks lining the perimeter of the field in addition to extra venue security specifically tasked with preventing students from reentering after they leave. 

Goodman also said that wristbands would be passed out as people entered the venue space to keep the event limited to only the WashU campus community. She said that more information about the wristband would be released in the next ten days. 

Peggy Hermes, Associate Director of Campus Life, described how this semester, there will be a T-shaped stage, unlike the usual flat-facing stage in Brookings Quadrangle. She said that this is a “considerable adjustment to the stage layout,” but thinks it will help prevent students from being pressed up against the barriers. 

Hermes also mentioned that SPB is working with a new security company, which “specializes in crowd control and concert management on college campuses.”  

Despite the new stage structure and security, Hermes reminded students that they “should make safe and healthy decisions that night especially as it pertains to listening to volunteers and following signage so it can be [a] safe and fun [event] for everyone.”

Goodman echoed Herme’s sentiment. 

“It’s the 50th anniversary of the conception of WILD,” Goodman said. “We wanted to make sure that [it] is successful.”