Yeah, yeah, The Weeknd’s not coming to Juice Jam, despite our previous speculations. Once you get over your disappointment, though, appreciate that University Union put together a pretty good lineup for this year’s festival. Here are some of my quick reactions to the artists:

Big Sean

Big Sean’s come a long way since he played a sold-out Syracuse University crowd at Schine Underground two years ago and he’ll have a ton of new material to play for a larger crowd at Juice Jam this year. Expect a heavy rotation of his newer material from Dark Sky Paradise, his 2015 LP featuring hits like “Blessings”, “IDFWY” and “One Man Can Change the World”.

Oliver Heldens

This Dutch EDM producer was pretty clearly picked by the University Union event organizers as a kind of “catch him before he’s big!” act. His 2014 single Gecko (Overdrive) topped the UK music charts but never caught on in the US– a pretty good indication that he’ll get big here pretty soon. Expect the kind of crowd along the lines of previous acts like Dillon Francis, 3LAU and Nicky Romero.

Matt and Kim

This was probably the biggest surprise for me out of this lineup. Years past have mostly featured newer, more sprawling indie pop artists, like Misterwives, Broods, or Smallpools  but an act like Matt and Kim that’s held a steady place on the map for over ten years is a pretty nice change of pace for Juice Jam. Past hits like “Let’s Go” and “Daylight” will definitely be played, along with more than a few songs from their 2015 release New Glow.

iLoveMakonnen

Look, this guy technically made Tuesday (feat. Drake), and honestly I’d expect a pretty quiet crowd until that song comes on– and, inevitably, plenty of people walking out right after. His 2014 self-titled release is his whole discography so far (which is only 7 songs long), so studying up on him to prepare for his Juice Jam set shouldn’t be too hard.

BØRNS

Ever since I first heard about BØRNS’ rumored Juice Jam appearance I’ve been telling people how excited I am to see her– until, well, I did a little research after the official announcement and found out BØRNS is actually a guy with a really convincing falsetto. His brand of electronic indie pop is pretty unique in that crowded sphere, though, and he’s just starting to gain a fanbase in preparation of his newly-announced LP, Dopamine. He’s sure to play songs making today’s indie radio waves like “Electric Love” and “Seeing Stars.”

SNBRN

The second EDM act of this year is the quick-rising SNBRN, whose chiller house-style music is more Kygo than Heldens. The 2015 single “Raindrops” is the only one to make any real impression so far, but it’s an EDM act at Juice Jam, so the crowd’s going to love him anyway.

Brett Weiser-Schlesinger is a sophomore newspaper and online journalism major. He can be reached by email at bweisers@syr.edu or by Twitter at @brettws.

Published on August 31, 2015 at 11:50 pm