SUBOG announces Summer Walker and Sean Kingston (pictured above) for UCONNIC. (Image via Facebook)
R&B artist Summer Walker and Jamaican-American rapper Sean Kingston have been announced as the two opening acts for the 2019 UCONNIC Music Festival, headlined by Lil Baby.
Walker, an up-and-coming singer/songwriter, entered the R&B scene in 2018 with her debut studio album “Last Day of Summer,” which peaked at 25 on the Billboard 200 charts. She is best known for the remix of her single “Girls Need Love” featuring Drake. She toured in late 2018 with 6LACK, and was named Apple Music’s “Up Next Artist” earlier this year. The 22-year-old singer from Atlanta, Georgia was announced as the first opener on Tuesday evening via social media.
Kingston rose to international fame in 2007 with singles such as “Beautiful Girls,” “Fire Burning,” “Take You There,” “Face Drop” and “Eenie Meenie” featuring Justin Bieber. After a lengthy hiatus he announced an upcoming album titled “Made in Jamaica” in 2017, which he is currently promoting through a college tour. In the past he has toured with artists such as Bieber, Beyonce, Gwen Stefani and Kelly Clarkson.
“So far, we’ve hit you with rising artists like Lil Baby and Summer Walker, but now we’re gonna run it back to summer of ‘07,” SUBOG’s Instagram announcement on Wednesday explained.
The student performers selected to perform will be Kids That Fly, an alternative rock group; HVN, an R&B group; and Style Points, an EDM group.
In addition to performances from Lil Baby, Walker, Kingston and student performers Big Mozz, Taco Tequila, Wing it On, Milkcraft and Lizzie’s Curbside will all have food trucks at the event. SUBOG is teaming up with USG and Apple to provide students with various activities, student art and free giveaways. The silent disco and Photoboxx from last year’s festival will be returning as well.
“We want every student to be able to attend, enjoy and create their own UCONNIC experience,” concert committee PR chair Lauren Lewis said.
If you still want to be fire burnin’ on the dance floor next Thursday but haven’t bought your ticket yet, you’re in luck: SUBOG is having a flash sale today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. online at concert.subog.uconn.edu.
By using the code UCONNIC, you can purchase floor tickets for $50 instead of $75, lower level tickets for $35 and $30 instead of $50 and $45 and upper level tickets for $25, $20 and $15 instead of $30, $25 and $20.
“This year, we decided to continue to strive towards reaching our goal of being a diverse and inclusive student-run event that gives as many students as possible a piece that they’ll enjoy. In doing so, we have successfully brought in a widespread lineup,” Concert Chairman Ryan Banigan said. “All in all, we have continuously strived to bring in as many genres to complement the rest of our events.”
UCONNIC Music Festival will take place Thursday, April 11 in Gampel Pavilion.
Melissa Scrivani is the associate life editor for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at melissa.scrivani@uconn.edu.
