Student leaders announced Thursday music artists Hoodie Allen, Toro y Moi and Delta Spirit will headline the Revelry Music and Arts Festival, receiving mixed reactions among University of Wisconsin-Madison students.
Revelry, a music and arts festival primarily organized by the Wisconsin Union Directorate, will take place near Union South May 4, the same day as the Mifflin Street Block Party. Revelry’s set list includes music genres ranging from rap to pop to electronica.
Headliner Hoodie Allen is a well-known New York City rapper; Toro Y Moi is an R&B-electronic fusion artist and Delta Spirit, a rock group featured at Lollapalooza last year. Other performances include Danish pop star Oh Land and southern California group The Mowgli’s.
In addition to the national artists, Revelry’s set list also features UW-Madison student artists Lord of the Flies, CRASHprez and Julian Lynch, as well as local groups Phox, Rage Life and Chance the Rapper.
Revelry leaders are expecting a large turnout for this event, according to Revelry Marketing Director Josh Lieberthal.
Lieberthal also said revelry leaders are “proud” of the artists on the set list, especially considering the $100,000 budget they were allotted. The leaders reached out to many different widely known artists and chose the best artists that were available to perform, according to Lieberthal.
While Lieberthal recognizes the selected bands are not as well known as some were expecting, he said the festival will be about discovering new music as well.
“I think if a student literally doesn’t know anyone on the set lists, they’ll still see the value of going to this event,” Lieberthal said.
Similarly, UW-Madison junior Andrea Liebrandt, who said she knows a few of the artists, thinks the diverse genres on the set list make the event appealing. She said she would choose attending Revelry over the Mifflin block party due to the artists that will perform.
However, UW-Madison freshman Sean Hoey said he did not think the event was worth attending after seeing the lineup, since he was not familiar with many of the performers.
“Well it would help if I knew [the artists] names,” Hoey said. “They didn’t have to be that popular, but if I knew their names I would consider going.”
Student presale tickets for Revelry will go on sale Monday April 8 and cost $5. Organizers will release details Monday about increased ticket prices of those purchased after April 22.
