A.S. Concerts and Events Director Christian Walker revealed to the UCSD Guardian that the secret Sun God artist is electronic music duo Louis the Child. The artist will be performing second at Saturday’s festival, following Paradise and leading into Great Good Fine Ok, Nico and Vinz and headliner Miguel.
Walker told the Guardian that ASCE has been looking forward to revealing the secret artist ever since the initial lineup announcement, partly because of how unique the duo’s musical style would be from the rest of this year’s Sun God lineup.
“[A] big question we’ve gotten pretty constantly since releasing this year’s lineup is ‘where is the EDM?’ and it was so hard to keep this a secret,” Walker said. “But once their performances at Coachella [were] completed [we were] free to tell the students about this stellar act that’s heading their way. We feel like their music really fits perfectly at this year’s event, and can’t wait!”
Louis the Child is a Chicago-based DJ duo comprised of producers Freddy Kennett and Robby Hauldren whose music takes inspiration from trap, electronic dance music and hip-hop. According to EDM.com, SnapChat ranked LTC among its top three EDM artists to watch in 2016. Moreover, in January, the act topped MixMag’s list of “Artists Taking American Dance Music to the Next Level.” The duo’s single “It’s Strange” (featuring K. Flay) gained notoriety after being featured on Taylor Swift’s playlist “New Songs That Will Make Your Life More Awesome” that she released in October and on the FIFA 16 video game soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R65s3mPGeQk
The reason why ASCE had to keep the artist a secret, according to Walker, was because their contract with Coachella prevented them from announcing any upcoming performances in the region until the dual-weekend festival’s conclusion.
“It was due to the fact that they had already been booked by Coachella, and announcing another show in Southern California around the same date would have violated their contract for that festival,” Walker said. “So we booked them with the understanding that we’d need to keep it a secret until after Coachella ended.”
Walker and his team hope that Louis the Child’s music will match up with both the daytime college atmosphere.
“I think they’re a name that is really beginning to resonate in college audiences right now,” Walker said. “They also musically fit really well with the daytime vibe and feel that we were aiming for at this year’s festival.”
The 2016 Sun God Festival will take place on Saturday, April 30 between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. All UCSD undergraduates qualify for free admission if they register online for the event before Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. However, according to the event’s Facebook page, registration is limited to the capacity of RIMAC Field and will thus occur on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students’ UCSD identification cards will serve as their tickets into the festival, but re-entry will not be allowed.
UCSD graduate students are also eligible to purchase Sun God tickets in person at the UCSD Box Office for $46 (plus box office fees).
Featured photo courtesy of Producer DJ.
