If you search for tickets to the J. Cole concert at the Carrier Dome on Ticketmaster, you’ll be greeted with a yellow exclamation mark and a warning: “NOT MANY LEFT.”

Even though the annual spring concert sponsored by the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity has moved from Goldstein Auditorium to the much larger Carrier Dome, it appears they’ve had no trouble selling seats.

“I think they went on sale at 10 a.m.,” said Tom DiTrani, a junior bioengineering major who will be seeing J. Cole for the fourth time. “I got mine at 10:01, I think. I didn’t waste any time.”

J. Cole will be performing with opener Elle Varner on Friday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. A student presale for floor tickets went up at 10 a.m. on Feb. 10. Now there are only $30 tickets left, which are available to the general public.

The concert is in conjunction with Phi Beta Sigma’s 100th year of service. The fraternity has raised more than $30,000 over the past two years of concerts held in Goldstein auditorium — they brought Big Sean last year — which they donated to causes like helping those suffering from the severe drought conditions in the Horn of Africa.

This year, proceeds will go to the March of Dimes and Sigma Beta Club, the fraternity’s mentorship program for middle and high school students, as well as several other local foundations.

Ayinde Emers-George, vice president and public relations chair of Phi Beta Sigma, said they wanted to book the Carrier Dome as a way of drawing attention to the fraternity’s 100 years of service.

“We are celebrating 100 years of service, and I wanted to make sure that that was known and that as many people as possible were invited to celebrate this milestone with us,” Emers-George said in an email.

Emers-George also said that after hosting two back-to-back sold out concerts in Goldstein, moving to the Dome was the next logical step. Phi Beta Sigma also looked into moving to the OnCenter.

Khamini Harinarain, a junior civil engineering major, said she saw Big Sean last year and is excited the J. Cole concert will be held in the Carrier Dome.

“I think it’s great that they get so many people to come out,” she said of Phi Beta Sigma, adding that the move to the Carrier Dome means they’re able to sell more tickets and raise more money for good causes.

But even without the charity, students are excited about seeing the rapper at the Dome.

“I’ve been a big fan ever since his debut mixtapes,” DiTrani said. “I feel like his lyrics paint a picture. He’s different than most rappers out there now. He doesn’t necessarily rap about things I can relate to, but he talks about overcoming things.”

Emers-George said Phi Beta Sigma decided on J. Cole because of his popularity, especially after his latest album, “Born Sinner,” which came out last June, and this year’s Grammy nomination for “Power Trip,” for best rap/sung collaboration. He added that they booked Elle Varner because she is a good complement to J. Cole and because they wanted to do something different.

“We have never brought a female or R&B artist, so we thought this would be the perfect time to stick with what we have done in the past, but also expand by trying something new,” he said.

While Detrani has a good idea of what to expect since he’s seen J. Cole three times already, Harinarain said she’s excited to be seeing the rapper for the first time.

“I’m hoping he plays a lot of his big songs and stuff off his new album,” she said.

Published on March 19, 2014 at 11:59 am

Contact Jessica: jmcabe@syr.edu | @Jessica_Cabe