Ludacris, the Walkmen, Phantom Planet and Damien Marley will be among the artists performing at this year’s Sun God festival, A.S. Commissioner of Programming Rishi Shah announced earlier this week.
Luda:
The confirmation came after weeks of speculation by students and campus media outlets, fueled largely by preannouncement postings on band Web sites.
The full lineup for the 23rd annual festival will include, on the main stage, Ludacris, Phantom Planet, and Damien Marley and the Empire. On the side stage, the Walkmen, Rufio and a yet-to-be-named “special guest” will perform.
New this year is the addition of up-and-coming national bands Gatsby’s American Dream and Over It to the daytime stage in Price Center, complementing the group of local and student bands that usually perform there.
“I’m really stoked about the lineup,” A.S. Commissioner of Programming-elect Eric Morris said. “We have a real diversity of bands this year, which we haven’t had before. We haven’t had a reggae act like Damien Marley in a long time, if ever.”
The remaining “special act” will also contribute to the variety, according to Morris.
“We’ve got one more act coming that, if we confirm, will add even more diversity to the lineup,” he said.
As is customary, the Sun God performers were the subject of hot speculation among students. Adding to the rumors this year were postings on the Web sites of the Walkmen and Marley, showing UCSD’s RIMAC Field as a May 13 tour stop.
Morris said he is thrilled to have a currently popular act like Ludacris performing.
“Luda is huge,” he said. “We get flak sometimes for picking artists that, even though they may have been really big, maybe aren’t so much anymore. We’re really happy this time to get someone at the apex of their career.”
The Atlanta hip-hopper definitely still is, according to his recent sales. His last two albums, Chicken -N- Beer and The Red Light District, both reached number one on the Billboard Top 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop lists and fostered a string of hit singles including “Stand Up.”
The rapper has also acted in numerous films, including the 2005 rap movie “Hustle and Flow,” and 2003’s “2 Fast 2 Furious.”
Perhaps best known as “the band that Jason Schwartzman used to play drums for” or for their “O.C.” anthem “California,” L.A. rockers Phantom Planet play a mix of post-grunge indie-pop. Their self-titled 2004 release reached number 95 on the Billboard 200 list.
The Walkmen, a five-piece indie-rock outfit from New York, are also known for their music’s appearance on Fox drama “The O.C.” The group’s 2004 major-label debut, Bows and Arrows, produced “The Rat,” which became a rock radio hit.
