Well, friends, it’s that time of the year again and with the Battle of the Bands behind us, RUPA’s gone forward and announced the performers for this year’s Rutgersfest. J. Cole, Talib Kweli, Brand New and P.O.S. are all set to perform at the event, which is going to be held on Livingston campus on April 30th. Brand New and P.O.S. have been hitting a string of venues in the past weeks and will be doing the same leading up to Rutgersfest, so it’s no surprise they’ll take the stage in Piscataway for the same event as well. We’re personally most excited about the other two performers, Talib Kweli and J. Cole. If you’re not familiar with J. Cole, you should be as he’s Jay-Z’s protege. He’s dropped verses on Hov’s Blueprint 3 and has had a flurry of guest spots on artists’ albums in recent months. And Talib Kweli, well we hope we don’t have to go into detail about one of hip-hop’s most influential lyricists.

I’m wondering though — is Hi-Tek going to be there, too? Only time will tell.

Excited much? Well, you should be. Rutgersfest ’09 is looking to be one of the best shows in recent memory with N.E.R.D. and Ryan Leslie both performing for the Scarlet Knight crowd on May 1st. Pop-punk band Motion City Soundtrack will also be performing and Battle of the Bands winner the N Result will be opening for the show. It’s set to take place at the Yellow Lot of the Livingston Campus (Our friends at the Daily Targum are still getting acquainted with the University) in Piscataway, NJ (I personally liked the Livingston location last year).

For any freshmen out there, Rutgersfest is the event of the year as we’re blessed with a variety of food, games and music. Free to enter, but those food vendors aren’t.

See everyone there!

Update: I’ve been getting some questions so I thought I’d clarify for the masses. Rutgersfest runs all day basically with festivities starting around noon/1pm (Guesstimate as they never announce start time; they just say that it’s all day. There are no tickets so anyone can go even if you’re not an RU student.

The 37^th Annual Springfest will be held on Livingston Campus on Saturday, April 18.  It will run from 1 pm to 11 pm on the grass field next to the Livingston Bookstore.  There will be free food, a DJ, a caricaturist, a henna tattoo artist, fire spinners, 6 inflatables, a bonfire, and an outdoor movie. We’ll be there, will you?

What: Springfest

When: Saturday April 18th 1pm to 11pm

Where: Livingston Campus by the Bookstore

Enjoy the afternoon as Rutgers performing arts organizations showcase their talents on stage at the State Theatre. Performances include cultural and contemporary dances, singing, juggling, and comedic performances.

What: Rutgers On Stage: Celebrate Performing Arts

When: Sunday, March 8, 2009, 4:00pm – 6:20pm

Where: The State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ

Student Groups Performing:

A for Effort
Orphan Sporks
Deep Treble
Rutgers Ballroom Dance Club/Team
Liberated Gospel Choir
Rutgers Chinese Dance Troupe
Shockwave
Rutgers Bellydance
Rutgers University Bhangra
RU Juggling Club
RU Natya
RU Raas and Garba Association
Queens Chorale
Rutgers Performing Dance Company

Sponsored by:
Rutgers University Student Life
State Theatre of New Jersey

Ticket Information:
Tickets on sale 2/10/2009
$5 RU Students with Valid ID,
$10 Faculty, Staff, and Non-University Guests.
Tickets can be bought at the State Theatre, the SAC on George St., or from a member of one of the performing groups starting February 10.