Bienen junior wins Battle of the DJs for second year, will perform at Dillo Day

Christine Farolan, Reporter

Bienen junior Lucas Messore, known as Behind These Eyes, won Mayfest’s Battle of the DJs for the second year in a row, getting the chance to play at Dillo Day after his set last year was canceled because of rain.

The battle, which took place on Thursday at Buffalo Wild Wings, featured six student DJs. 21 individuals applied to compete in the battle by sending their mixes to Mayfest. SESP junior Luke Cianciotto, coordinator for Battle of the DJs, said the competitors were chosen based on a set of criteria including creativity, experience and quality of sound.

“Like what we could imagine drawing a crowd at Dillo Day — that’s probably one of the bigger ones, can they hold the attention of a crowd on Dillo Day itself,” Cianciotto said.

Messore will play a 30 minute set at the festival later this month.

Communication senior Bri Hightower, Mayfest’s co-director of promotions, said the winning DJ usually goes on before the fourth official Dillo Day artist.

“(It’s) kind of right around the time that the sun’s starting to set,” Hightower said. “It’s a nice atmosphere.”

The contest’s winner was chosen by a panel of three judges. Cianciotto said attendees also had to name their favorite DJ at the door, since the number of mentions each DJ received also factored into the judges’ decision.

Weinberg sophomore Aditya Raikar, who came to support Marc Gyongyosi (“MARC”), said he came to learn from other DJs.

“I’m a DJ myself,” Raikar said. “So I’m basically here to see what the other guys got.”

Gyongyosi said he was most excited about showcasing his introductory track.

“(It’s) a remix of Hardwell’s ‘Jumper’, LMFAO’s ‘Shots’, Martin Garrix’s ‘Animals’ and The Chainsmokers’ ‘#SELFIE’,” the McCormick freshman said.

Dillo Day is set for May 31.

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