Busta Rhymes, Goldfinger and Clipse have been confirmed to perform at the 22nd annual Sun God festival on May 21.
“Busta Rhymes is the artist we’ve always been going for, for years and years and years,” said newly elected A.S. Commissioner of Programming Rishi Shah, who was A.S. Festivals co-coordinator this year. “It’s something we’ve always wanted at Sun God and it just finally happened this year.”
The all-day festival will begin with daytime activities including music, food and games at 10 a.m. and last until 4 p.m. on Sun God Lawn, Library Walk and Price Center Plaza. Gates to the evening portion of the festival, which will take place on RIMAC Field, open at 5 p.m.
“Get out early and have fun during the day,” Shah said. “There’s tons of stuff to do. To have the most fun at Sun God, don’t hang out in your apartment until 9 p.m.”
Hip-hop artists Clipse will play first, followed by ska-punk band Goldfinger and finishing off the night with rap artist Busta Rhymes.
Opening on the main stage before the headliners will be UCSD student band Dubbeats, who were winners of the annual Battle of the Bands contest.
Continuing a tradition that began last year, a second, smaller stage will be set up on RIMAC Field, where bands other than the headliners will play between sets on the main stage. Only two out of four bands, the Moving Units and the Bronx, have thus far been confirmed. According to Shah, all bands on the side stage will likely be rock bands.
“It will be non-stop rock,” he said.
Organizers expect between 12,000 and 14,000 attendees at this year’s festival, matching or surpassing previous years’ records.
Revelle College sophomore Tammi Schmidt, who has a midterm on the day of the event, said she is especially looking forward to the festival.
“It’ll just be a fun day,” Schmidt said. “I’m excited for the music. I plan on just hanging out with my friends.”
Shah said his office has been calling bands inquiring about their availability for the festival since January.
“We go through lists of hundreds of artists — I’ve seriously called every single artist you can think of,” he said.
One difference between this year’s festival and past festivals will be skydivers, who are scheduled to drop onto RIMAC Field around 6 p.m.
Other than this addition, organizers said the festival would feature similar activities as in past years.
“My goal was to do the best show we could possibly do,” Shah said. “Basically to get the most kids out as we possibly can, and to make it the best day that UCSD has.”
Shah advised students to stay safe to best enjoy the Sun God festival.
“People tend to think Sun God is the day RSOs and police look the other way, but it’s not,” he said. “Go out and have fun — it should be the most fun day of the year — just be safe and try to make it to the concert.”
For John Muir College sophomore Grant Zehnder, the Sun God festival is a day that brings the campus’ students together.
“I look forward to the fact that UCSD kids will actually try to have fun for once in their life,” Zehnder said.
The festival is free to all UCSD students with a valid campus ID. Guest tickets are on sale at Price Center box office for $15 and are limited to one ticket per UCSD student.
