The event featured artists Don Toliver, Umi and DJ Odd Mob
By AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS — campus@theaggie.org
On May 8, the ASUCD Entertainment Council (EC) held its annual Lawntopia concert for UC Davis students, with singer-songwriter and rapper Don Toliver headlining. The event, which had some 5,500 attendees, was marked by new changes in venue and ticketing.
The event was held at the University Credit Union Center, a change from the usual location of the Quad. Jonathan Ng, a third-year political science major and the EC unit director, expressed the difficulties finding a venue to accommodate all students.
“We wish there was a capacity on campus that could fit 38,000 undergrad students, but there isn’t,” Ng said. “We tried to accommodate every student given the limitations we had. There are positives and drawbacks to every location on campus.”
Unlike previous years, this year’s Lawntopia was not a free event for students. Beginning on April 14 for 48 hours, students could buy presale tickets for both general admission floor and the upper level at a lower price. On April 18, students could buy general sale tickets that had an increased price of five dollars more than presale.
The new system was a seeming lottery for some students, with many not being able to get a ticket either round. Jordan Zamora, a third-year psychology major, was one of them.
“I kept refreshing and refreshing when it hit 10 a.m.,” Zamora said. “The minute I was let into the website, it was completely sold out — both times I tried to get tickets. Some of my friends got it immediately on the first day of presale, I don’t know why I didn’t.”
However, for others, the new ticket system was viewed as an even playing field, providing an equal chance for all attendees to purchase a ticket. Lauren Prum, a first-year biological sciences major, thought the ticket-buying process was simple.
“I had no issues getting tickets,” Prum said. “It was a quick and easy process; I thought the website would crash, but it didn’t. It was like buying actual concert tickets, but less competitive.”
The event began at 6 p.m. with student openers Nineteenth Operator and DJ Harry. The latter, real name Harrison Tann, was chosen to open after EC’s Battle of the DJs, a free event held prior to Lawntopia for students to vote who they wanted to open the event.
“Getting the student body more engaged with who they wanted to perform is something I hope I implemented with the Lawntopia line-up,” Ng said. “The event was the first time that students had a say in who was performing, and it was a success.”
After student openers, R&B artist Umi opened the main performances of the night. Lorena Alvarez, a second-year political science and Spanish double major and a fan of Umi’s music, was excited to see her as an opener given her rising popularity.
“The one thing I love about Lawntopia is that students get introduced to new artists from different genres,” Alvarez said. “Although Umi is not a small artist, she’s still building her career and now more students are exposed to her music, which is amazing.”
Following Umi, Brisbane-native DJ Odd Mob performed a set of electronic music before headliner Don Toliver took the stage. His set introduced new pyrotechnics and special effects, a first in Lawntopia history.
Melissa Eaglehouse, a second-year animal science major and fan of Don Toliver, said she lined up at 1 p.m. to be near the front of the stage when doors opened at 6 p.m.
“I love his music,” Eaglehouse said. “When I found out he was headlining, I told all my friends we had to be barricade. I got in line around 1 p.m., and it was so worth it — I was so close. It was so hype.”
Looking to the future, Ng hopes to continue serving students and being transparent about where their money goes.
“We want to continue to serve the students, continue to represent their needs, while also working with the realities of our budget,” Ng said. “Our team is genuinely trying to maximize every student dollar to ensure students are ending up getting what they are paying for when it comes to their fees.”
Written by: Aaliyah Español-Rivas — campus@theaggie.org
