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Springfest on the Boston campus will also feature former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Leslie Jones. In Oakland, the week will include activities and a spring carnival.
Northeastern University is preparing to kick off Springfest 2024, which features appearances from former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Leslie Jones and “Coffin” rapper Lil Yachty and a carnival in the student center.
“We’re very excited,” said Rosie Scott, a senior music industry major and vice president of events for the Council for University Programs. “We’ve been trying to book lineups that are tailored to a bunch of different audiences. We try to vary genre from year to year, but also through the week.”
Scott said there’s already been a lot of interest for both events and that the floor section of Matthews Arena is already sold out for the Lil Yachty show on March 30.
Tickets for the show are currently on sale. Each Northeastern community member can purchase a ticket for themselves and a guest, according to the Council for University Programs, which is presenting the event.
Lil Yachty rose to fame in 2015 with “One Night,” a single from his debut EP. Since then, he’s released five studio albums, with the latest, “Let’s Start Here,” debuting in January 2023. He recently announced an upcoming album, “Bad Cameo,” that will be a collaboration with British singer-songwriter James Blake.
After his appearance at Northeastern, the Atlanta native will perform at Coachella in April before kicking off “The Field Trip Tour,” which will take him across Europe.
Undergraduate and graduate students can purchase tickets for $15. Tickets are also available to faculty and staff plus College of Professional Studies and School of Law students. Community members can also buy tickets, but they must be purchased with a Northeastern ticket. Graduates can get tickets through the Alumni Office.
The show will begin at 6:45 p.m. on March 30, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
This year’s Springfest will also feature the first-ever Springfest Showcase. Jones, an Emmy-nominated comedian, will perform standup at Blackman Auditorium on March 26, followed by a performance and moderated Q&A with singer-songwriter mxmtoon.
“Our main goal is to make sure there’s as much as possible and that there’s something for everyone on campus,” Scott said.
Jones is best known for her work as a cast member and writer on “Saturday Night Live.” She got her start on the stand-up circuit before joining SNL from 2014 to 2019. Jones also starred in the 2016 “Ghostbusters” remake and “Coming 2 America,” the sequel to the 1998 Eddie Murphy film “Coming to America.”
Jones will perform with New York City-based comedian and actor Lenny Marcus, who has been collaborating with Jones and has performed on shows like “The Tonight Show” and “The Late Show.”
Mxmtoon is an Oakland native who got her start as a YouTuber known as Maia. She also streams on Twitch and has released two graphic novels.
The showcase will begin at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30. Tickets are free to students.
Other events on the Boston campus include the Cuplympics Stuff a Husky on March 24 (it’s already sold out), a show with Laganja Estranja in Curry Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. on March 25, and Cuplympics Carnival at the Curry Student Center at 6 p.m. on March 27.
Oakland will also observe Springfest with the Oakland Olympics and Spring Carnival. The Oakland Olympics will be held over the course of two weeks and features different events where students can get stamps that will make them eligible to enter a raffle taking place during the closing ceremony.
The Oakland Olympics begins on Friday, March 29, kicking off with an “opening ceremony” with food trucks, field games and intramural basketball. It closes on April 12 with an event during the intramural basketball championship games.
Oakland’s Spring Carnival is on Thursday, April 4. Student clubs are running different events to showcase the work they’ve done this semester. There will also be music and food trucks.