Hey UChicago, Summer Breeze is only days away! Whether you still need to buy your tickets (hurry, they’re going fast) or you were one of the first in line, it’s good to get to know this year’s headliners at least a little bit. While you may not be a fan of all three, now’s a great time to discover new artists and relive old memories with others.
Without further ado, here are this year’s Summer Breeze headliners!
Lunice
Canadian producer and DJ Lunice Fermin Pierre II, known by his stage name Lunice, originally hails from Montreal where he began as a b-boy at a very young age. But when he heard producer 9th Wonder’s beats constructed on free computer program Fruity Loops, Lunice gave up his place on the 701 Squad for a life of music.
Since then, Lunice has worked with the likes of Diplo and Azealia Banks, who featured him in her video for “212.” He’s currently part of TNGHT with Scottish DJ Hudson Mohawke, a collaboration that was formed to release an EP with Warp Records/LuckyMe. Expect to hear some heavy trap, electronic-infused hip hop this Saturday as Lunice takes the stage!
Some singles:
Bus Stop Jazz – The Jealous Guys ft. Lunice
Runnin – Azealia Banks ft. Lunice
Smith Westerns
With AraabMuzik still recovering from being shot during an attempted robbery, Smith Westerns will now rock UChicago! The Chicago-based indie band has been around since 2007, but didn’t drop their first album until 2009.
Smith Westerns’ Summer Breeze appearance comes a month before the band releases their third studio album, Soft Will. You can expect them to try and win over many fans during Summer Breeze, just in time for Soft Will’s release and a new set of summer tour dates.
Some singles:
All Die Young – Smith Westerns
Weekend – Smith Westerns
Nelly
He may no longer be the same Nelly who introduced the hip hop world to some “Country Grammar,” but here’s hoping that we’ll be goin’ down down, baby when Nelly storms the stage this Saturday. The 38-year-old rapper will be here to help us relive our middle school dances with some iconic hits that will get you singing and dancing like no other.
While his more recent singles like “Just a Dream” are catchy, we can only hope that Nelly will fill his set with older classics. Face it, it’s been years but we still can’t get over the fun, lively “Hot in Herre” and smooth “Dilemma.” Going back even further, it would be more than satisfying if the rapper also pulled out super old hits like “Ride Wit Me” while getting us to stomp around in our “Air Force Ones.” Can’t remember any of those songs? Nelly had a whole list of hits around the mid-2000s that may still be recognizable, like “Shake Ya Tailfeather” from the Bad Boyz II soundtrack and “Grillz.”
Nelly rocked Northwestern’s Dillo Day back in 2010, so here’s to a great, if not better, concert here at UChicago. Though the rapper’s slated performance on campus has generated extremely mixed reactions, he’s sure to not disappoint…provided that he can take us back to the streets of Nellyville.
Some singles:
You know them all!