Classes are wrapping up, exams are approaching and Program Board’s concerts committee and MEISA, the recording industry club, are providing students with one last shebang.
The annual spring concert line-up was announced Wednesday. Dev, Zion I, DJ Benzi, Shiny Penny and the Critical Shoes and The Tribe and Big Cats! will perform at the first Butlerpalooza, scheduled for April 21 on the mall.
“We wanted to do something different, so we’ve been planning this since July,” said Maddie Silverstein, junior and concerts co-chair. “We wanted to do a festival because we wanted to be able to diversify the music that Butler students listen to.”
Headliner Dev is a hip-hop based artist that most students have probably listened to on the radio. She’s performed on hits such as “Like a G6” and “In the Dark.”
Silverstein said her committee was very excited to get Dev as its headliner. Silverstein also liked that they had a woman headlining.
Zion I is also a hip-hop group that focuses on “futuristic” sound and socially conscious lyrics. DJ Benzi is a fairly well-known disc jockey who has mixed songs by both Mike Posner and Diplo.
Shiny Penny and the Critical Shoes is a local rock band from Kokomo. Sophomore recording industry studies major Brad DiCarlo does vocals and plays the guitar and drums in the band.
They previously played in the Reilly Room in February.
“This is one of the more legitimate shows we’re going to be able to play,” DiCarlo said. “Dev is a pretty big artist, so we’re excited to share a stage with her.”
Finally, The Tribe and Big Cats! is a rap group that sticks to the idea that rap can be fun without being stupid, and meaningful without getting too heavy.
“We’re trying to push rap places it hasn’t been before,” Spencer Wirth-Davis (or Big Cats) said.
While the band members have never played in Indianapolis before, they’re always excited to play at a college.
“You know you’re going to have a good built-in crowd,” Wirth-Davis said. “It’s always well-promoted and well-run. College shows are always a lot of fun for us.”
As for the rest of the show, Silverstein said it’s been a great experience for herself and her two co-chairs, Kyle Wehr and Kevin Hansen.
“There have been a lot of speed bumps, but it forced us to think on our feet and work with the administration,” she said. “We’re really happy with the outcome. We’re hoping we’ll be able to do the same thing next year.”
The festival will last from 4:30 to 10 p.m. on April 21 on the south mall close to Jordan Hall. The concerts committee is also planning on bringing food trucks to the festival, although none have yet been lined up for the event.
