Neither rain, mud nor cooler temperatures hampered the rodeo-themed 50th anniversary celebration of Dillo Day, which took over the embankment behind Norris Hall on the Northwestern University campus.
With around 10,000 tickets sold and a large midday crowd of 5,000-6,000, people were hungry for the celebration held on Saturday May 21, despite a 90-minute rain delay.
Fifty years ago, this event began as Armadillo Day, organized by a group of Texans wishing to reconnect at home through music, according to the press release from Mayfest Productions, the student group that produces the festival. annual music. The name was eventually shortened to Dillo.
Walking around the lake landfill area, there were bean bag games, people lining up for food trucks, and a crowd waiting to hear more music from the main stage. Cowboy boots seemed to be the shoe of choice, but there were plenty of attendees who dressed up for the occasion.
The Round Table saw cowboy hats of all sizes, unique outfits with various rodeo – cowboy – rancher vibes. Additionally, many outfits that allowed the wearer to stand out even when no rodeo connection was apparent.
Northwestern University outgoing president Morton “Morty” Shapiro greeted the crowd at 2 p.m. and opened the main stage for Vicetone, also known as Dutch duo, Victor Pool and Ruben den Boer, who started their set at 2:24 p.m. . Vicetone is known for its melodic and danceable electronic music.
A little over an hour later, rapper Cochise was playing on the Main Stage. Mayfest Productions’ press release describes Cochise as “one of the leading young rappers pushing the boundaries of psychedelic trap music”.
Jack Ding, talent buyer for Mayfest, said: “Cochise inspires children to be themselves, to be passionate about what they are passionate about and not to care what other people think.”
Junior Rebecca Wilson was eager to see and hear daytime headliner Remi Wolf perform. She described Wolf’s music as “exciting music, very positive, danceable to, very fun” and said she really liked Wolf’s hit song, “Photo ID”.
When Wolf took the stage at 4:45 p.m., she took control. The audience sang and clapped along with Wolf, enjoying his music, lyrics and energy.
“Remi Wolf’s endlessly fun live energy and presence on the Northwestern campus makes him the perfect daytime headliner for Dillo 50,” said Ethan Shanfeld, director of bookings for Mayfest Productions.
The roundtable spoke with various uniformed security personnel to find out if it was a safe Dillo day, as the Mayfest preliminary meetings and text messages had promised.
There were intoxicated students being treated by paramedics on site, and a representative from the Evanston Fire Department said they had received numerous calls about intoxicated students at parties off-campus.
A student was expelled from Dillo Day for drunkenness. Her friends were contacted to take her home, but she ran away and in the process slipped and cut her head. She was taken to Evanston Hospital for evaluation.
The festival continued with an almost constant musical flow until closing at 10:15 p.m.
