After the announcement of Kendrick Lamar and Steve Aoki as headliners for this year's Spring Fest, one question remained despite the heightened anticipation: Who were the supporting acts? The Student Association finally announced its finalized lineup.
Bands 5 & a Dime, Bad Rabbits and Krewella will be joining Kendrick Lamar and Steve Aoki on April 14 at Alumni Arena for the annual show. Student DJ, Harris "DJ Rosado" Rosado, will be opening Spring Fest.
This is the first Spring Fest in two years that doesn't have a predominately hip-hop lineup; Rick Ross, Fabolous, Wiz Khalifa and Nas - predominately rap artists - were a few of the talents who performed at the concert during that time span.
Instead, fans of electronic dance music and post-R&B will also be appeased with this lineup.
Greg Kantor, also known as 5 & a Dime, is a DJ/producer from Philadelphia, Pa., whose ability to mash various genres of music into his mixes has gained praise from Elektro Magazine and many electronic music websites. Kantor's popularity surge led him to perform 100 times at approximately 50 colleges within the last year and a half, according to his Facebook.
Bad Rabbits, a five-piece band from Boston, Mass., is an unsigned post-R&B group who combine a modern R&B sound with a post-rock vibe. The band includes Dua Boakye on vocals, Sheel Dave on drums, Salim Akram and Santi Araujo on guitar and Graham Masser on bass. Their covers and original music on YouTube have gained them as many as 200,000 views, and they've collaborated with artists like The Cool Kids' Chuck Inglish and have performed at the South by Southwest festival.
Krewella is the only band not included in the original rumors about the Spring Fest openers. The band, which consists of members Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf and Kris "Rain Man" Trindl, has made a name for itself within the EDM community throughout the last four years. The Chicago-based band released two EPs in 2012, Play Hard and Play Harder in June and December, respectively. Krewella's determination has paid off; the group will also be traveling as far as Australia and to the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Fla., after its UB performance.
Rosado opened last semester's Fall Fest after being asked by SA entertainment talent coordinator Cory Riskin. The senior sociology major's set from last semester included house and hip-hop, which will perfectly complement the acts that will follow him.
While the original announcement for Spring Fest presented Baird Point as its location, it has since been changed to Alumni Arena in anticipation of Buffalo's unpredictable weather.
Undergraduate students will receive admission free of charge with their UB ID cards at the door. General admission tickets are currently on sale for $35 at all Ticketmaster locations, as well as the Alumni Arena Box Office.
Doors will open at 5 p.m., and the show will begin at 6 p.m.
Email: arts@ubspectrum.com
