Thursday marks year two of what Iowa State hopes to turn into an annual tradition: the spring outdoor concert.

Despite echoes of Veishea, the spring outdoor concert aims to serve as a community opportunity to bring students together in a safe and fun way.

Last year, roughly 2,500 people attended the Sunday event. Now on a Thursday, headliners this year include Grammy award-winning R&B artist Ella Mai and viral pop artist Bazzi.

With tickets priced at $25 for students and $39 for those without student identification, the spring concert serves a relatively cheap opportunity to hear from up-and-coming artists. It also serves as an opportunity for Iowa State students to take a break from studying and enjoy the warm weather.

In previous spring outdoor concerts hosted at Iowa State, performers have included Ludacris, Timeflies, Andy Grammer, Twenty One Pilots and Jamie Lynn Spears. Last year, the headliner was Fetty Wap, who was joined by KYLE and Cheat Codes.

As stated in last year’s editorial on the concert, the ISD Editorial Board is happy to see organizations like the Student Union Board and Student Government, who originally contributed $160,000 in funds to help jump start the spring concert, create a better experience for Iowa State students.

However, now that the spring concert has relatively found its footing, it is time for Iowa State to begin building on its traditions.

The spring concert has never been, and will more than likely never be, advertised as a Veishea replacement.

“This is not Veishea, it’s not going to be Veishea. That’s not what we’re going for. If you bring that name back into the mix that negative culture comes back very, very quickly,” said former Student Government president Cody West in 2017. West and his running mate, Cody Smith, campaigned for the return of a spring concert.

By placing the spring concert on a Thursday or Sunday, it reduces the risk of students attending the concert intoxicated or going out in masses afterwards — a few of the influences that lead to the Veishea riots.

In no way is this editorial advocating for the return of Veishea. In turn, we request that students continue to advocate for a strong Cyclone community through creating new activities that unite our student body.

This is only possible, however, if we are responsible in both how we grow our traditions as well as how we choose to shape them.

The spring concert has created the opportunity for students to expand on tradition and to create their own legacy at Iowa State. The ISD Editorial Board encourages students who find joy in the concert to think of other ways that the student body can be united outside of standard staples such as Homecoming Week or Greek Week.

The spring concert is not Veishea. However, the fact that it is happening for the second consecutive year is a sign that students don’t just crave traditions of the past but have the ability to create new ones of their own.