Ludacris and rap collective Two9 will play A&O Ball 2013 on April 27 at the Riviera Theatre, A&O Productions announced on Sunday.
"Usually when we are looking around for artists that we think for ourselves are a big headliner, it's something that isn't nearly as big as Ludacris," said Justin Lehmann, A&O's director of Concerts. "We were really just fortunate through working with the Finance team and knowing what our numbers were that we were able to reach a lot higher up than we normally can for this show in particular."
Lehmann said that Ludacris would be particularly appealing to the current Northwestern students. "He's one of those artists where name recognition is instantaneous. Once people go to the show, they're going to be like, 'Oh my god, I can't believe how many of these songs I actually know.'"
Atlanta-based rap collective Two9, who have been working and touring with Ludacris, will open for the Grammy Award-winning rapper.
"It was just kind of a natural fit," said Lehmann. "It's what you call 'routing' a show, which is where, if they're touring, we kind of fit well into the tour overall and that's part of why we were fortunate in getting the two groups to come perform for us."
The collective, consisting of Curtis Williams, Key!, FatKidsBrotha, Retro Su$h!, DJ Osh Kosh, Gunner Stahl and OriginalFani, is a fairly new group. However, A&O has confidence that their big-name collaborators are an indicator of the group's talent. Shelly Tan, co-director of Marketing & Media, also saw that Two9 fit the bill as an up-and-coming artist. "A&O prides itself on bringing artists that will eventually become household names."
Lehmann added that a member of A&O Productions shot a video for Two9, a fact that A&O did not find out until after they had booked the collective. "The fact that not only the headlining artist has co-signed them, but the fact that people on A&O Productions have also worked with them makes it a pretty cool selection in our opinion."
A&O Ball, traditionally held off-campus, will be held at the Riviera Theatre in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. "They can expect a kick-ass show," said A&O Chairman Logan Koepke. "It's going to be a hell of a lot of fun."
Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the show will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and will go on sale online on Monday, April 22, at 10:30 a.m. Free shuttles will transport students to and from the Riviera Theatre, and WildCARDs will be checked at the busses and at the door.