Pusha T Headlines Spring Fling

Courtesy of Springfling

This year’s Spring Fling line-up includes R&B artist Ravyn Lenae, French DJ Dombresky and rapper Pusha T.

of spring fling The music festival will take over the Old Campus on Saturday, April 29th. The all-day event will kick off with a performance by her three student acts who won the Battle of the Bands on April 8th. Ravyn Lenae opened the line-up, followed by Dombresky. This year’s headliner, he’s Pusha T to close out the show. Each student can bring one guest to the festival.

“Personally, I was shocked [Pusha T] I said yes,” said Renée Theodore ’24, one of the four co-chairs of the Spring Fling Commission. “In my opinion, it is because he is so legendary. It is a great honor for people to come visit us at Spring Fling.

The lineup selection process began in September. The Spring Fling Committee, made up of 27 undergraduate students, sent a survey to all Yale students to collect feedback on last year’s festival and look at current trends in student preferences for genres and artists. .

This year, committee members built a website that brings together Spotify information for Yale University students. The database, called “Yale Wrappd,” summarizes Yale University’s top Spotify artists, playlist of the most popular songs among students. The committee then used these trends to predict the artists and genres that students would be most interested in listening to. Pop and hip-hop genres saw the most listeners.

With this year’s line-up of three artists, the committee hopes to offer attendees a musical journey. Her Tess Levy ’25, co-chair of the committee, said she envisions people rocking and singing along to her Lenae’s “more relaxed sound.” She next hopes that Dombresky will bring audiences together with electronic dance music and that Pusha T’s “energetic” performances will continue.

According to Paula Toranzo ’25, co-chair of the committee, opening artist Ravyn Lenae is “one of the biggest rising stars” from Chicago. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter is signed to Atlantic Records and he’s signed to Three Twenty Three Music Group. Her music is a blend of her R&B and soul.

“She has a velvety voice,” Tranzo said. “It really puts you in a trance. Her latest album is literally called ‘Hypnose’ and it contains exactly what she is.”

For Toranzo, Lenae’s music is about self-love, a song that promotes “being confident in your body” and “embracing your life.” Toranzo predicts that Lenae will draw crowds with her performance at Sunset.

The committee judged potential artists based on their ability to connect with an audience, using videos of past performances as indicators, Tranzo explained.

“The stage presence is huge,” Tranzo said. “And Lovin’ Lena, she has it. She connects with the crowd and rocks them to cry. It’s really beautiful.”

A serendipitous event followed Lenae’s choice. One day, while Levy and Toranzo were dining in the Commons Dining Hall, a group of students approached them with a list of Black artists they wanted to see at Spring Fling. Ravyn Lenae was one of them. The committee had already selected her for the lineup, but this feedback convinced them that they had made the right choice.

In welcoming new students to the Spring Fling Committee, Levy emphasized that they aim to create a group that is representative of the entire Yale community, both in terms of genre interest and identity.

“I think it’s very powerful to have a black female artist on this campus. I think we can really show what we can do, that we can be big names,” he said. “Not having to follow typical trends or stereotypes.”

Dombresky follows Lenae with a series of electronic dance music. The French DJ has been mixing and producing music for about 15 years and is under the Insomniac record label.

Levi last year line up With EDM returning to Spring Fling. She recalled that her students “danced and felt so free” on the set of her EDM artist Sofi Tukker. Tranzo backed this up, describing the genre as having “undeniable energy”.

“One of the big takeaways from last year is the power of having EDM artists and DJs who can come in without knowing the lyrics,” says Levy. “All we need is people who have the energy to dance and participate.”

Levy highlighted Dombresky’s knowledge of music production and his popular EDM tracks “Down Low” and “Soul Sacrifice”. Based on videos of his past performances, she said he was thrilled to bring the crowd together.

Festival headliners Pusha T have been on the music scene for 30 years and are Billboard’s top 50 All-time rapper. Compared to previous lineups that tended to feature up-and-coming artists, Theodore said his Pusha T was “very established”.

“I’ve never seen it live, but [but] I shudder every time I watch his videos,” said Theodore. “I literally start to sweat a little when I think of his name on screen. I think it’s because it has an undeniable quality that is unmatched.”

According to Tranzo, the committee wanted to bring to campus someone whose legacy was widely recognized and whose work they admired. Commission co-chair Zack Hauptman ’25 praised not only Pusha T, but also the artists he works with. He cited Lauryn Hill, with whom Pusha T has worked on songs, and Pharrell’s feature on the rapper’s recent album.

Hauptmann, who is also the deputy editor of the Yale Daily News magazine, said Pusha T will bring an energy that “most other artists and rappers” can’t.

In light of the student protests in February last year pitbull To make headlines for the festival, the four co-chairs recommended contacting the committee early for recommendations, especially around September.

“Student feedback really helps, and we take it seriously because, at the end of the day, our job is not to satisfy our musical tastes,” Levy said. increase. “To please Yale and give them the day they want.”

The event welcomes everyone, even if they don’t have a specific target audience in mind, Levy said, praising the event’s accessibility. Students do not have to pay for tickets or meals. An ASL interpreter will be present to ensure everyone enjoys the experience.

Throughout the school year, the Spring Fling Committee will enhance the excitement of the event through “Tiny Dorms,” ​​a set of concerts performed in student rooms in the style of NPR’s “Tiny Desk” series, and Battle of the Bands. Their goal is to give art the space it deserves on campus, Levy said.

According to Theodore, Spring Fling is Yale’s largest student-organized event and comes at a perfect time of the year, when classes are over and reading week is just beginning.

For students unfamiliar with the Pusha T, Toranzo’s message is ‘trust us’. She said that when Pusha T comes to campus, even if students attend the festival without being able to say the name of his song, they will click when they hear him perform.

“He’s King Push. He’s forever,” added Theodore.

This year’s Battle of the Bands will take place on April 8th at Yale Farm.