TikTok star Tai Verdes set to perform at MSU

On Wednesday night, singer Tai Verdes will be performing in the Bresnan Arena at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Hosted by the Student Events Team, the concert will be running from 7:30 to 10 p.m.

Born as Tyler Colon, Verdes dropped out of college in order to pursue music full time five years ago. However, it wasn’t until the Covid pandemic that Verdes found success when he released “Stuck in the Middle”.

“Back in 2020, not a lot of artists were using TikTok in creative ways to promote their music,” said Verdes in an interview with bbc.com. “The algorithm is so potent and so ready to share good ideas with people.” 

Verdes is currently touring at several colleges around the country, including Purdue University and Oakland University. When Student Events Team Concert Company Chair Will Keebler took notice, he immediately decided to reach out in order to bring a fresh face to the campus. 

“Tai is a really exciting up-and-coming artist that has been generating a lot of popularity on TikTok and Spotify recently,” said Keebler. “After getting an older artist for Homecoming [Jesse McCartney], we wanted to bring in someone younger for the spring.”

Verdes has racked up an impressive 9.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify and has over 2.5 million followers on TikTok. The audience should expect a lot of Verdes songs to be off of his 2021 debut album, “TV.” The half hour album features Verde’s most popular songs “A-O-K” and “Stuck in the Middle.”

Since “A-O-K” dropped on June 8, 2021, it has received over 178 million listens. The laid back yet upbeat song lets fans know that with all of the troubles in the world, everything will turn out okay in the end. 

Verdes’ music is similar in style to Peach Tree Rascals, Tyler Cole, and Oliver Tree, as his music ranges from R&B to soul to pop. Verdes’ musical style was one of the reasons that Keebler chose to invite him to campus. 

“In the past, we have tended to book a lot of country and hip-hop shows. Tai is more in the Pop/R&B genre, so that’ll be a nice change from what we have typically done,” shared Keebler. “He’s also a TikTok star, which is a new trend in the music industry as a whole.”

With fun, easy going songs being performed, the concert will be a great opportunity to let students relax before the stress of finals towards the end of the month. 

For those looking to still purchase tickets, they are being sold at mnsuevents.com. Tickets are $5 for MSU students, $20 for one student guest and $25 for the public or MSU staff. For $50, people can purchase a VIP ticket, which allows concert goers early access to the venue and a pre-party that will conclude with a group photo with the artist.

Header Photo: Tai Verdes, an up-and-coming R&B and pop artist will be performing at the Bresnan Arena at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. (Courtesy Photo)

Write to: Emma Johnson at emma.johnson.5@mnsu.edu