Dillo Day
Dillo Day is an annual all-day music festival at Northwestern University that takes place at the end of spring quarter on the Lakefill. Beginning in 1972, it is organized by , a Northwestern student group, and is the largest completely student-run music festival in the country. Northwestern lists Dillo Day as one of its most notable traditions.[1]
History[]
The festival has its roots in May Day, or Mayfete. Mayfete was a time when students would celebrate the "renunciation of the May Queen of the temporal world for a spiritual one," according to a 1951 history of the event.[2] Although little is known about the early days, May Day was originally a celebration of the women of Northwestern. The crowning of the May Queen was the central event, and the pomp included a Maypole dance and cotillion. May Day expanded to May Week in 1946 to accommodate a women's sing, men's sing, and an honors ceremony.
Armadillo Productions was created in 1972 by two students from Austin, Texas to honor the official animal of their home state and a concert venue there.[3] They held a “I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas Anymore” festival and fair that had costumes, games, a treasure hunt, and special events.[4] It was held every year until 1976 when it was cancelled due to weather and financial difficulties; but returned the following year as Armadillo Day. That same year, a 10-day assortment of campus programming called Mayfest began, which included Armadillo Day, Greek Week and A&O's Spring Festival.[5] Mayfest Productions eventually formed from A&O Productions, solely producing the Saturday concert event on the shores of Lake Michigan that is known today as Dillo Day. Mayfest Productions has earned a reputation for booking major industry artists, and is annually one of the largest and most competitive clubs at Northwestern.
Organization[]
The festival features a main stage, second stage, food trucks, beer garden, and Dillo Village that hosts art from students and Chicago-area artists, as well as various other games and activities. Dillo Day is open to all Northwestern University students, faculty, and staff. Students are each permitted to bring one additional guest, and a limited number of tickets are reserved for purchase by Evanston residents and Northwestern alumni. The second stage is curated in partnership with an additional campus organization-- currently Northwestern's Black student alliance, For Members Only, who has provided Dillo Day with a historic all-Black lineup on the stage for the past 3 years. In addition to Dillo Day, beginning in 2016, Mayfest Productions hosted annual Battle of the Bands and eventually Battle of the DJs competitions in the weeks leading up to the festival. The winners of these respective events perform on the main stage of Dillo Day that year.
On May 30th, 2020, Mayfest Productions hosted Digital Dillo, a virtual replacement for the annual music festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those within the Northwestern community received a link to a livestream where they could watch live artist performances and participate in Q&A sessions with them. The following year, Dillo Day was held as a hybrid festival. This once again featured virtual artist performances and live Q&A's, but also had in-person components across campus the entire week of the festival similar to the original Mayfest. This included Mayfeast, a collection of food trucks outside Deering Library; Mayfit, a thrift shopping event at Norris University Center; Dildo Day, a variety of sex/body positivity events; student art installations on the Lakefill where the festival is traditionally held; a silent disco outside Norris featuring Chicago area DJ's; and screenings of artist performances on and off-campus.
Recent Lineups[6][]
2021[]
Main Stage[]
- Playboi Carti
- KAYTRANADA
- beabadoobee
- Omar Apollo
FMO Stage[]
- Blxst
- Brittney Carter
- Brandon Banks
Band & DJ winner (respectively)[]
- Sydco (won in 2020)
2020[]
Note: due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no student acts during the 2020 livestream.
Main Stage[]
FMO Stage[]
- Azjah
- Yung Kaygo
- Mir Fontane
2019[]
Main Stage[]
FMO Stage[]
- Monique Heart
- Kota the Friend
- DFree Da Vinci
- Caleborate
- Amindi
Band & DJ winner (respectively)[]
- FIZZ
- Luminosity
2018[]
Main Stage[]
- Young the Giant[7]
- TOKiMONSTA[7]
- Whitney[7]
- Joey Bada$$
- Daniel Caesar
WNUR x Nongshim Stage[]
- Cupcakke
- Dos Santos
- Violence
- Jasmine Infiniti
- Guerilla Toss
Band & DJ winner (respectively)[]
- EJ3
Past lineups[]
2017
Main Stage
- MGMT
- Gramatik
- Little Simz
- DRAM
- Porches
WNUR x Nongshim Stage
Band & DJ winner (respectively)
2016
Main Stage
WNUR Stage
Battle of the Bands Winner
- DIAL UP
2015 (Note: Dillo Day was canceled in 2015 due to weather)
Main Stage
- Charli XCX
- Odesza
- Miguel
- A$AP Ferg
- Saint Motel
WNUR Stage
- Cakes da Killa
- Ben Aqua
- K Rizz
2014
Main Stage
- Chance The Rapper
- 2 Chainz
- Ryan Hemsworth
- OK Go
- Cults
WNUR x IndieU Stage[8]
- Tink
- The GTW
- RUNNING
2013 [9]
- Walk the Moon
- Danny Brown
- Smash Mouth
- Lunice
- Wiz Khalifa
2012 [9]
2011 [10]
- B.o.B
- Chiddy Bang
- New Pornographers
- N.A.S.A.
- Kill the Noise
- Peter Bjorn and John
2010 [11]
2009 [12]
- N.E.R.D
- Estelle
- Tally Hall
- Mike Posner
- The Decemberists
2008 [13]
- Common
- Broken Social Scene
- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
- Third Eye Blind
- The Cool Kids
- A DJ set by Northwestern University alumnus William Butler, member of Arcade Fire
- A DJ set by Flosstradamus
2007
- Cake
- The Roots
- Lupe Fiasco
- Pete Francis
- Office
2006
2005
2004
- The Wailers
- Gavin Degraw
- The Pharcyde
- The Ms
- Michael Tolcher
2003
- Robert Randolph and the Family Band
- The Crystal Method
- Blackalicious
- Steel Train
- Idlewild
- Troubled Hubble
2002
- Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
- Mystic
- The Slackers
- The Pages
- Local Age
2001
Legacy[]
Stephen Colbert mentioned Dillo Day at his 2011 Northwestern University commencement speech (Northwestern is Colbert's alma mater, where he was a theater major in the 1980s).[14]
References[]
- ^ "Northwestern Traditions" Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Northwestern University Office of Undergraduate Admissions
- ^ "The Evolution of Dillo Day". Northwestern Alumni.
- ^ "About Us".
- ^ "The Evolution of Dillo Day".
- ^ "May Celebrations, University Archives, Northwestern University Library".
- ^ "About Us".
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Dillo Day 2018 Lineup". Dillo Day. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/events/1487777954784568. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - ^ Jump up to: a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2012-05-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Matt Connolly, "Week in Review May 26: Dillo Day, lacrosse and coupon apps", North by Northwestern, 26 May 2011
- ^ "Full Dillo Day lineup posted" Archived 2012-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Northwestern, 25 May 2010
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-03-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Liz Coffin-Karlin, "Third Eye Blind will headline Dillo Day lineup"[permanent dead link], North by Northwestern, 25 May 2008
- ^ Youtube video of Colbert's commencement speech at Northwestern University, 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6tiaooiIo0
External links[]
- Music festivals in Illinois
- Northwestern University
- 1972 establishments in Illinois