Lawnparties

Recent years

It’s important to remember that this culture, and love for live music, is still very much alive today. Indeed, in recent years the likes of Third Eye Blind, Jurassic 5, The Goo Goo Dolls, Weezer, MGMT, The Gin Blossoms, Ghostface Killah, the Indigo Girls, Wale, Guster, Chiddy Bang and Vampire Weekend have made appearances on campus.

In honour of the graduating class of 2013 we hope to recap the Lawn Parties that they have experienced on campus and we hope still remember fondly:

• FALL '08

  Matt Nathanson opened up the Fall 2008 event with his then popular hit “Come On Get Higher” and also a tasteful rendition of the Rick Springfield classic hit, “Jessie’s Girl” setting the stage well for the event’s headliner, Lupe Fiasco. Lupe, bringing a seemingly unlimited supply of energy, entertained the Princeton campus with a number of his more popular hits, most notably “Kick, Push”, “Daydreamin”, and “Hip Hop Saved My Life”, before closing the show with “Superstar”.

• SPRING '09

  In the spring of 2009, Princeton welcomed Gym Class Heroes to perform at the event and close out another year. Featuring Travie McCoy, guitarists Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo and Eric Roberts, with Matt McGinley on the drums, Gym Class Heroes put on another fantastic show. Featuring songs mainly from their album “Quilts” the group really got the student body going with their performance of “Peace Sign/Index Finger” and “Cookie Jar”.

• SPRING '10

  In the spring of 2010, after the student body elected to donate its fall funds to several charitable organizations, Princeton landed the extremely talented and critically acclaimed Hip-Hop/R&B group, The Roots. Featuring band members with names that won’t easily be forgotten, such as Tuba Gooding Jr. and Questlove, who was named by Rolling Stone Magazine Readers the eighth best drummer of all time, The Roots made the wait of an entire year for a big artist worth it. Playing songs that represented a good cross-section of their long career in the music industry, they made their mark most notably with their performance of “The Seed (2.0)”.

• FALL '10

  In fall 2010 and after a mind blowing set by Super Smash Bros, Princeton brought in a man whose star was decidedly shining very bright on the Billboard Top 100 songs, a man known simply as B.o.B. Bringing a fresh and familiar sound, Princeton’s campus was all-abuzz to hear the songs that made up the vast majority of everyone’s end of the summer playlist and he did not disappoint. Performing hits such as “Magic”, “Nothin on You”, and the wildly popular “Airplanes”, B.o.B was certainly a show not to miss.

• SPRING '11

  Our most recent concert featured the one and only “Wiz Khalifa”. One of the years biggest breakthroughs, Wiz rocked the crowd with his repertoire of hits including, “No Sleep”, “Roll Up” and the “Black and Yellow”. Khalifa closed the academic year in grand style and had the packed lawn jumping, stumbling and dancing to the rhythm of his beats.

• FALL '11

  After a year of dominating the charts and rocking shows around the world, the meteoric Far East Movement touched down in Princeton for last September's Lawnparties. Tearing through chart-toppers like "Girls on the Dance Floor," "Rocketeer," and fan-favorite smash "Like a G6," FM's energetic blend of electro and hip-hop provided the perfect kick of energy for launching into the academic year. Their takeoff was assisted by a dynamic team of mashup wizards: Princeton's very own MashMaticians and Chicago-based duo The White Panda.

• SPRING '12

  The campus collectively swooned over rising pop duo Timeflies from the moment they bounded onto the stage, and by the time frontman Cal finished his seamless, off-the-dome Princeton-themed freestyle, rapped off a sheet of paper he'd gotten five minutes before, the energy in the crowd was electric. Childish Gambino, one of hip-hop's hottest emerging voices, had no problem plugging right into the passion. With the support of his live band, one of the best in the country, Childish crushed a fiery set that included fan-favorites "You See Me," "Bonfire," and "Freaks and Geeks," earning himself a permanent place in the Lawnparties pantheon as one of the best acts ever to grace the main stage.

• FALL '12

  In the fall of 2012, Third Eye Blind brought their blend of angsty, rebellious, and always-energetic music to Princeton. They played hits such as “Jumper” and “Semi-Charmed Life,” infusing Lawnparties with vibes reminiscent of the 90’s…minus the glitter of Britney Spears and the choreography of ‘N Sync.