Electronic group Cheat Codes is Fall Lawnparties headliner, USG announces

On Friday, Aug. 31, American electronic music trio Cheat Codes was announced by Princeton USG Social Committee as the headliner for Fall 2018 Lawnparties, which will take place on Sunday, Sept. 16 along Prospect Avenue.

The Los Angeles-based group Cheat Codes is known for their singles "Sex" (2016) and "No Promises" (2017), the later of which was certified "platinum" by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Students who spoke to The Daily Princetonian showed interest and excitement for the coming performance.

“Honestly I’m not that familiar with Cheat Codes but I like their music,” Lawrence Chiang ’21 said. He particularly enjoys their tracks “Feels Great,” “Only You,” and “No Promises”.

Chesley Chan ’21 also praised the group for putting out really good songs with American singer Demi Lovato and the British girl group Little Mix.

“I’m really excited to see them live,” Chan added.

Both are satisfied with how the Princeton USG Social Committee has handled the selection of the headliner.

Dany Alkurdi ’21 especially appreciates the decision to invite DJs to the main stage, saying students will have an easier time dancing to electronic dance music or EDM.

“DJs just seem like a real fun idea,” he remarked.

Other students suggested USG should select headliners with more name recognition for future events.

Shannon Chen ’21 suggested USG present a list of artists within budget and allow students to vote on the headliner.

Chair of the USG Social Committee Liam Glass ’19 argued against this idea, citing issues of confidentiality and the possibility that negotiations might fall through before contracts are signed. Because of this, voting for headliners has not gained traction, said Glass, whose approval would be required for any such decision.

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Glass acknowledged that students may feel Lawnparties seems to get inferior acts compared to similar events at other schools. ut he said there are misperceptions about the differences between Princeton events and those of other schools.

“We want every single student to be able to go to the event without having to pay for a ticket or anything at all,” Glass explained. “Most other schools will charge anywhere from thirty to forty dollars for any single student to be admitted to the show.”

Students from Brown University told the 'Prince' their Lawnparties equivalent costs $40 over the course of two days.

Jonathan Delgadillo, a student at University of Pennsylvania, said tickets for Penn's "spring fling" usually cost "like fifty [dollars] each."

Karin Nagano, from Yale University, reported she thinks tickets at her campus are free for Yale students.

As a result of covering Lawnparties expenses with only USG funding, the Social Committee tries to select acts they believe are “on the up and coming,” Glass said

He referenced an article claiming Cheat Codes may be the biggest pop DJ/EDM group of the next five years. The hope is that after Lawnparties are over, students will be more familiar with the group and share the joy of watching them rise to greater heights, he commented.

Glass also noted that the Social Committee conducted a survey in the Fall of 2017 to collect responses on what artists or genres students would like to be featured at Lawnparties.

The results of that survey were primarily split between hip hop/rap and EDM genres with no clear winner.

Vince Staples, the headliner of Spring 2018 Lawnparties, and Cheat Codes, the announced headliner of the upcoming Fall 2018 Lawnparties, are hip hop and EDM artists, respectively.

“One thing I want everyone, particularly freshmen, to grasp is that while Lawnparties are happening on the Street and there are events at the eating clubs, we want this day to be a very equitable, open, and accessible event,” Glass said.