After a drought of new tracks, Chance the Rapper satisfied eager listeners by releasing a collaboration with fellow Chitown-native Towkio: “Heaven Only Knows.” This groovy slice of bass-line and lyricism bodes well for his highly-anticipated headlining of Revelry Music and Arts Festival this May.
But booking a high-profile artist like Chance didn’t happen without bumps in the road, Revelry Fest Marketing Director Ronan Daly said.
According to Daly, after receiving student feedback through a survey sent to students in October, Chance was one of the first artists Revelry reached out to. The two sides’ asking prices weren’t even close at first, but after weeks of negotiating, Chance and his people settled for an agreement close to Revelry’s first pitch, much to the delight of Daly and Revelry.
“The starting price and the price he ended with — there’s a huge, huge difference. So that was kind of nice to see,” Daly said. “I think he just kind of recognized UW-Madison.”
Chance broke into the music scene with his first mix tape, Acid Rap, released in 2013. That same year, he was featured at Lollapalooza, but not before he made a stop in Madison at the first ever Revelry — before he got big.
Between acknowledging the festival that booked him before he blew up and his Midwest roots, Chance compromised, Revelry Executive Director Ben Arden said.
“He gets what we’re trying to do with this event,” Arden said. “He was super understanding because he realizes the artistic vision and he’s perfectly fit for Revelry, because he can attest to those values.”
Another factor in landing Chance was bringing in up-and-coming, also Chicago-native rapper Mick Jenkins, who has a relationship with Chance, Daly said.
Chance will return with his live band this time, the Social Experiment.
Revelry shifts focus to acommodate more student artists, festival goers
Arden said the festival places a high importance on bringing in acts of different popularity, as it serves a duel purpose of pleasing as many parts of the student body as possible and finding the next big artist. They were successful in predicting Chance the Rapper’s rise to fame in 2013, and they plan to continue this endeavor.
“[The line-up is] all people that are the Chance the Rapper’s of 2013 or G-Eazy of 2014,” Arden said. “Being on the cutting edge in the music industry is something we pride ourselves on.”
“It’s great for us when we see the main stage lineup released and everybody is talking about each act because everyone has such a different taste in music,” Arden said.
Plan to receive his cocoa butter kisses and witness the best intro ever at Revelry, May 2, from noon to 10 p.m.
The Badger Herald is an official partner of the Revelry Arts and Music Festival.
