WBMB Radio hosted its Spring Fling festival at Baruch College on April 27, marking the event’s return after a four-year hiatus.

WBMB said it started planning the event in the Fall 2022 semester.

Rapper Rich the Kid headlined a lineup that consisted of five additional artists who are current Baruch students and alumni.

Spring Fling is an annual music festival held in Baruch’s Athletic Recreation Center Arena every Spring semester. The last festival was in 2019 with J.I.D and Flipp Dinero as headliners.

Baruch’s students couldn’t wait for it to return. According to WBMB, the event’s early-bird tickets sold out within 10 minutes. The radio asked Baruch’s Office of Student Life for permission to sell more tickets to meet demand. WBMB released five rounds of tickets through Eventbrite.

WBMB Radio President Christopher Clarke, who performed under the name Spincity Chris, didn’t expect the high demand for tickets.

“I’m extremely excited, I’m anxious,” Clarke said in a pre-show interview with The Ticker. “In all honesty, I was not sure that students would care that much about the show. The level to which they did kind of surprised me.”

Tickets were free but required to enter the event. About 200 of the 350 reserved tickets were scanned at the entrance, Amanda Lianna, an organizer of the event, said in an Instagram comment.

Doors were expected to open at 5:15 p.m., but security restricted attendees from entering until about 5:30 p.m. A small line of about 20 people had formed at Baruch’s 24th Street entrance.

Clarke’s set was a fusion of original hip-hop and Afro-beats-inspired songs. He performed his new single, “GT Boy,” which dropped at midnight on April 28.

Singer-songwriter Xaviera, who is a co-head of production at WBMB, was the last Baruch student to perform before Rich the Kid’s set. She provided a lush performance with a laid-back blend of pop and R&B. She sang an unreleased acoustic number called “Subtle Eyes.” Xaviera said it was her first time performing at Spring Fling.

There were also sets by DJ Jason, Supreme Carl, DJ Adam and DJ Tyler. DJ Freedom and DJ Drewski of the radio station Hot 97 were also present.

Rich the Kid took the stage at about 8:40 p.m. He started his set by greeting the crowd and walking past the barricade to get closer to fans and pose for selfies.

He performed hits such as “Plug Walk” and “Splashin.”

The rapper alternated between jumping around on stage and entering the crowd. He repeatedly told the crowd to “open up,” presumably to start a mosh pit, but no moshing occurred. Instead, fans bopped up and down and formed a circle around the most energetic dancers in the audience.

Rich the Kid also teased new music to the crowd. His single “Still Movin’,” featuring Fivio Foreign and Jay Critch, dropped later that night.

The proposed 30-minute set was cut about five minutes early, as Rich the Kid’s bracelet was reportedly missing toward the end of the performance. The rapper offered a cash prize to whoever found it, but the bracelet didn’t resurface.

Clarke said Baruch assisted WBMB with booking artists and DJs, and that students’ musical tastes and artist availability played a factor in deciding who to book.

“We talk to many artists about doing a show,” Clarke said. “End of the day it comes down to who students want to see, who is available and what makes sense.”

Overall, attendees seemed impressed with the performances.

“Tonight was great. He played some bangers, DJ [Adam] was great,” freshman Ruslan Zinnatullin said. “When Rich the Kid walked in, everybody went crazy. He played some bangers like “Plug Walk,” which everybody got hyped for.”