Musician Omar Apollo was named Dillo Day’s 2021 daytime headliner, according to a Wednesday release from Mayfest Productions.

Apollo is the first performer Mayfest has announced to the Northwestern community. Dillo Day 2021 will center around the theme of POSTMODERN, and is scheduled for May 22. The event will include both in-person and virtual content after a year of virtual Dillo programming due to COVID-19. 

“My team and I have had Omar Apollo on our radar for years now,” Mayfest Director of Booking Amirah Ford said in the news release. “Watching him develop, Omar has clearly distinguished himself as this genre-bending bilingual rising star.”

Born in Hobart, Indiana, Omar Apollo has familial roots in Guadalajara, Mexico. Apollo grew up performing, dancing ballet folklorico and singing in his church choir. When he was twelve, Apollo taught himself to play guitar by watching YouTube videos and imitating how the artists moved their fingers. 

Smoothly blending English and Spanish lyrics in his music, Apollo’s music draws influence from dream pop, funk, R&B and rap. In 2017, Apollo borrowed $30 to upload his song “Ugotme” to Spotify. It was an immediate hit, garnering over 40,000 streams by the next day and over 15 million streams that year.

Since then, Apollo has released two extended plays: 2018’s Stereo and 2019’s Friends. In his latest studio album Apolonio, Apollo sings of queer love and heartbreak.

Apollo is also Dillo Day’s first ever Latinx daytime headliner, according to the release.

“We’re excited to bring artists, like Omar, that better represent and reflect the identities and intersectionalities of Northwestern’s campus,” Ford said in the release.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @apchun01

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