Ben Folds, the former frontman for Ben Folds Five whose solo successes include the albums “Rockin’ the Suburbs” and “Fear of Pop: Volume 1,” will kick off this year’s Dillo Day concert at the Lakefill, Mayfest representatives announced Thursday.
Folds, Mayfest’s first choice for the early act, will perform at 12:30 p.m. on May 27 with a full band, co-chairman Ben Wolfert said. As one of two headlining acts, Folds will bookend the day-long concert along with Robert Randolph & The Family Band, who are scheduled to perform at 7:30 p.m.
Two other nationally touring acts, two student bands and a number of student disc jockeys will perform between the headliners. Mae, a pop-punk band, will be one of the other nationally touring acts. The band is scheduled to perform at 5 p.m., said Wolfert, a Weinberg senior.
Mayfest representatives said they want to have artists from several genres at the concert. In addition to the funk and soul music of Robert Randolph & The Family Band, the pop rock of Ben Folds and Mae’s emo sound, representatives said they want a rap and hip-hop artist as the final touring act.
Mayfest has not finalized contracts with the fourth touring act.
Having Folds perform early was ideal for a number of reasons, they said.
“It was partly out of necessity because he is playing a show in Milwaukee that night,” said Mayfest co-chairwoman Rachel Cort. “Twelve-thirty was basically the only time he could play and still make that show.”
Mayfest organizers also want to keep people on the Lakefill as long as possible by spreading out the headlining acts. In past years, performances built up to the headliner.
“We want it to be about the whole day, instead of just the last two hours,” said Cort, a Weinberg junior. “We have realistic expectations. We don’t expect the 2,000 people to stay out the whole day, but when people see what else we have to offer on the Lakefill, they’ll stay.”
Usually, Mayfest brings five nationally touring acts to Dillo Day, she added. Because they are bringing only four acts this year, they can spend more money on each one.
Folds last visited Northwestern in fall 2002, when he performed a solo show sponsored by A&O Productions at Patten Gym. Robert Randolph & The Family Band, who performed on Dillo Day in 2003, will also be returning guests.
The fact that seniors may have already seen both of this year’s headlining acts is not a big problem, Wolfert said.
“Our calculations are that 1,600 to 1,800 people were there for Ben Folds (in 2002), and he was playing solo,” he said. “And even if a third of those people were freshmen, that’s not a whole lot out of 8,000 undergrads.”
Wolfert added that Robert Randolph & The Family Band were a very young act in 2003, and now they have more familiarity among students.
Mayfest gauged student interest in certain artists for Dillo Day via student surveys and Facebook, Wolfert said. Ben Folds is currently the fourth most popular music act at NU according to Facebook Pulse.
According to Wolfert, both Robert Randolph & The Family Band and Mae also have strong followings at NU.
“In the past four years, we have never failed in terms of music quality,” Wolfert said. “But this year we have groups we know have a Northwestern fan base, from our research. In past years we had to publicize.”
Ben Folds Five, a pop rock group of the 1990s, released several albums, including their self-titled debut and “Whatever and Ever Amen.”
After the group broke up in 2000, Folds focused on a career as a producer and solo performer.
Reach Nitesh Srivastava at [email protected].
