Grammy-nominated artist, Drake, will perform to a sold-out crowd at Fresno’s Save Mart Center for the first time Thursday.
Since signing with Young Money Entertainment in 2009 under the guidance of rap superstar Lil’ Wayne, Drake has released two studio albums and has been nominated for nine Grammys. His first studio album, Thank “Me Later,” was released in mid-2010 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
The Canadian-born hip-hop artist, who released his second studio album titled “Take Care” in November 2011, was originally known for his role as Jimmy Brooks in the television series “Degrassi: The Next Generation.”
Fresno State students have shown immense support and enthusiasm for Drake’s upcoming sold-out show.
“When I first heard that Drake might do a show in Fresno, I knew that without a doubt I was going because who knows if he’d ever come back to Fresno again?” said Josh Vega, a senior at Fresno State.
Vega said Drake’s multi-talented shows are what makes him so appealing to fans.
“He raps and sings about stuff that you can relate to. His lyrics are clever,” Vega said.
This Thursday will be Drake’s first performance in Fresno. Fans were left hanging in October 2009 when Drake’s scheduled concert at The Big Fresno Fair was called off and replaced by rapper Flo Rida after Drake suffered a torn ACL.
In late 2011, the word began to spread that Drake might possibly be making a stop in Fresno on his upcoming “Club Paradise Tour.”
After months of unconfirmed information, the concert was officially announced in late January 2012 and Fresno State students learned that they would have first priority at purchasing tickets at 10 a.m. on January 24 at the Save Mart Center box office, days before tickets were available to the general public.
Alyssa Mandas, a pre-nursing student at Fresno State, said that she lined up outside of the box office two hours before the sale began. Mandas said she waited in the near freezing weather to get the best possible seats before tickets went on sale to the public.
“We had been waiting to see when the tickets would come out. As soon as I found out we could buy the tickets me and my roommates got our money together right away so that I could go get them that morning.”
Mike Osegueda, a features reporter at The Fresno Bee who covers music, said that he was not surprised the concert sold out, but was surprised in how fast it did.
“It’s one of the few shows that has sold out as quickly as it did,” Osegueda said. “Only a handful of artists have sold out that quickly and they’re all pretty elite folks like The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Britney Spears and Taylor Swift. That’s big company to be in.”
The “Club Paradise Tour” kicked off on Valentine’s Day in Miami and Drake has been performing nearly every night since as he makes his way across the country. In addition to Fresno, Drake will be performing in the Los Angeles, San Jose and wraps up his U.S. tour in San Diego on March 11. He will be joined on the tour by opening acts Kendrick Lamar and ASAP Rocky.
