Everything You Need to Know About This Year's Mayfest Artists
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock the past couple of weeks or so, listen up: Mayfest is this week. Earlier this month, University Union announced that The Knocks, Skizzy Mars, Verite, and Ayo & Alex will all be performing at Walnut Park to provide the soundtrack for the biggest party of the year. I personally think this is a good lineup, but a lot of students on campus aren’t really familiar with any of these artists, so we’re here to catch you up a bit before these artists take Syracuse by storm.
1. The Knocks This electronic music duo out of NYC is known for their remixes — they’ve produced them for artists like Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Marina & the Diamonds, Flo Rida, Sky Ferreira, Theophilus London, Ellie Goulding, and many others. They were also one named one of the 20 hottest producers in music in 2010 by NME Magazine, and have been known to encourage fans to set up after-parties following the shows for them to continue DJing. *hint hint*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emOKaGi8u5U
2. Skizzy Mars Skiz is a young rapper on the rise based out of NYC who realized his passion for rap his senior year of high school. He then skipped college to start releasing mixtapes like the American Psycho EP, Kindred Spirit, Phases, Pace, and his debut major album this year titled The Red Balloon Project, which received a lot of attention both online and underground. He has also collaborated with artists like Rockie Fresh and even G-Eazy, so you know he’s only going to get bigger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geKlJbCpEdw
3. Verite Verite is an indie singer-songwriter out of NYC who just recently got her start in music in the past year or so. She’s already performed at spots like SXSW, and has been compared to artists like Ryn Weaver and Kiesza. Her newest song “Wasteland” is definitely going to sound amazing live at Walnut Park.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYHMzOYNGxA
4. AYO Alex His SoundCloud profile describes him as a “23 year old son of a disco head” and a “lover of trill shit, day drinking, and quesadillas.” He sounds like a regular Syracuse student to me. He got a really big cosign when he won The Chainsmokers’ remix contest for their hit “Kanye.” He’s known for his trill house sound which is a mix of trap, house, and hip-hop. And he’s already got a single with Juicy J to top it all off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iy304Zd4x4