Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and producer Lil’ Wayne will headline the official concert for IU Bloomington’s Little 500 with a performce on April 12 at 7 p.m.
The event is co-sponsored by the Indiana Memorial Union Board and IU Auditorium.
IU Bloomington will be the only student-presented stop on Lil’ Wayne’s “I Am Still Music Tour.”
Rapper Nicki Minaj will also take the stage with Lil’ Wayne. Minaj signed to Lil’ Wayne’s record label, Young Money.
Lindsey Lawrence, IUB elementary education senior and Jeffersonville resident, said her roommate purchased their tickets the morning they went on sale.
“I’m excited,” Lawrence said. “The atmosphere is going to be crazy at the concert.”
Lil’ Wayne has sold more than 10 million records, and his multi-platinum 2008 album, Tha Carter II, sold more than one million copies in its first week of release.
Minaj will join Lil’ Wayne. She signed onto Lil’ Wayne’s record label. Minaj’s debut album, Pink Friday, recently went platinum.
In addition to Minaj, opening performances will include rap artist Rick Ross, Blink 182’s drummer, Travis Barker, and Mixmaster Mike who will open the show with a DJ/drummer set.
Lisa Wagner, IU Union Board concert organizer, said campus surveys and polls showed an overwhelming request for Lil’ Wayne for the official concert of Little 500.
“There was so much demand for Lil’ Wayne,” Wagner said, “and we were glad to be able to respond to them and bring him here.”
“It’s really a monumental thing for [IU Bloomington] to have this show,” she said.
Tickets for the general public are priced from $49.75 to $99.75, and for IUB students from $44.75 to $99.75.
Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster ticket centers and by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets will also be available in person at the IU Auditorium Box Office, 1211 E. Seventh St., and at the Assembly Hall Ticket Office.
A portion of the concert’s proceeds will go to Malaria No More, an organization working to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. Proceeds will also be used for working student scholarships at IU.
The Little 500 races will be on the weekend following the concert. The women’s race will be on Friday, April 15, at 4 p.m. and the men’s race on Saturday, April 16, at 2 p.m. Riders compete in four-person teams in separate races for men and women around a quarter-mile track.
The Little 500 is the largest college bicycle race in the United States. More than 25,000 people attend the races.
By LEAH TATE
Features Editor
lmtate@umail.iu.edu
