Big Boi, one half of hip-hop duo Outkast, will play Dillo Day, just before electronic artist Steve Aoki’s closing set. Mayfest representatives announced Sunday that the rapper and ska band Reel Big Fish have both been added to the lineup for their annual festival.
“Big Boi has had a really thriving solo career over the past few years, but he's also half of Outkast, which is arguably one of the biggest hip-hop duos of the past decade,” said Darrin Bedol, one of Mayfest’s co-chairs. Bedol said Big Boi, who also plays Outkast songs in his solo performances, is “universally accessible” but “would really satisfy people who like hip-hop music.”
In addition to Big Boi’s energetic rap music, Mayfest representatives said afternoon performer Reel Big Fish would add a musical dimension to the Dillo Day stage that has been underrepresented in previous years.
“Reel Big Fish was a fun way for us to change things up, because they're one of the most definitive names in ska,” said Janna Kaplan, Mayfest’s other co-chair. “It's really high energy, a big band, lots of instruments, and we think that Northwestern students will appreciate the nostalgia factor. We feel like they have a lot of big songs that people are familiar with and grew up with.”
Reel Big Fish and Big Boi join Cold War Kids and Steve Aoki as this year’s Dillo Day performers. Kaplan said a fifth artist will be added in the next few days and will most likely be slotted to perform between Cold War Kids and Reel Big Fish.
For Mayfest co-director of promotions Vivek Sudarsan, the departures from certain Dillo Day patterns that have become status quo, like a hip-hop act to close the event, is refreshing.
“Something that we’re really excited about this year is sort of shifting around the day a little bit and putting two big names at night, right next to each other,” Sudarsan said. “It’s just something that we haven’t done in a while, but we think that’s a great way to get people to stay out on the Lakefill.”
Big Boi, who is being partially sponsored by the Residence Hall Association, has not had a pristine performance record. The rapper failed to perform at last year’s Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, held in San Francisco, because his DJ’s computer malfunctioned. Still, Kaplan said Mayfest isn’t too concerned about a repeat occurrence.
“This isn’t a huge festival where things get lost in the shuffle,” Kaplan said. “We don’t anticipate that happening, and that has never really happened at a Dillo Day. We can say with full confidence that that’s not something we are at all worried about.”