By ANNIE BUI
Progressive house D.J. 3LAU will be the first opener at Slope Day on May 8, the Slope Day Programming Board announced Thursday.
Hailing from Las Vegas, Neva., the 23-year-old — born Justin Blau — broke onto the electronic music scene with his 2011 recordings “Girls Who Save the World” and “All Night Long.” He released his album Dance Floor Filth the same year.
According to Lee Singer ’14, executive chair of SDPB, 3LAU was chosen to perform at Slope Day in order to complement the other acts and bring “high levels of energy” to the festival.
“3LAU is an exciting and popular electronic artist that will … bring more members of the Cornell community to the Slope early,” he said. “With the announcement of 3LAU, [the SDPB] has been able to bring three very popular genres — electronic, alternative rock and rap — each with the potential to please different segments of the student population.”
Singer said he believed students will have “no problem” connecting to 3LAU’s music.
“There is a large portion of the student body that enjoys electronic music whose interests may not have been met by the other acts that are playing,” he said. “His high-energy music will pair well with the atmosphere of Slope Day, and we believe Cornellians will be able to relate to 3LAU and other students in the celebration of the end of classes.”
3LAU was enrolled as a finance major at Washington University in St. Louis until 2012, when he took a leave of absence from the university to pursue music.
He is the last artist to join the Slope Day lineup. Indie rock group Matt and Kim and rapper Ludacris will also perform.