Normani brings her ‘Wild Side’ to Princeton’s Lawnparties

The riviera came to Princeton during Fall 2026 Lawnparties, bringing clear skies and breezy afternoons for the event inspired by sun-soaked coastlines. Before headliner Normani took the stage, students gathered on Prospect Avenue and Frist North Lawn for an afternoon of music and festivities.

“We got really lucky with the weather this year. Past Lawnparties have been cloudy and miserable, so we got lucky with the sun,” said Khang Tran ’28 in an interview with The Daily Princetonian.

This year, students enjoyed food from over 10 vendors, ranging from Alfalfa and Taco Bell to Zac’s Burger and Maddalena’s Cheesecake. Many students noted the greater variety of food trucks and larger quantity of food available as compared with previous Lawnparties. Mariana Samuel ’29 said she couldn’t get an Alfalfa wrap during last spring’s Lawnparties “because they ran out very quickly,” but was able to get one this year.

Before the afternoon headliner performance, students gathered at eating clubs for additional artists, with Tiger Inn and Cottage Club drawing the most attendees. DJ Yemi and J Tilly took the stage at each respective club, with additional performances from X-Bo and Julien Granel at Ivy; Bedrumor and Wishy at Terrace; and Snow Wife at Tower.

At the main stage by Frist, students snacked on Domino’s pizza while watching student performers open for headliner Normani.  The first student act featured student DJ 504, whose set featured remixed tracks of Charli XCX and Troye Sivan. Second student act Super Bloom followed, performing rock covers of songs by Taylor Swift, The Killers, and Lady Gaga, among other artists.

“They were really talented,” said Sefanit Abebe ’30 in an interview with the ‘Prince,’ after listening to Super Bloom’s set.

Normani took the stage at 3:15 p.m., beginning the headliner set on time, unlike at previous Lawnparties. She is also the first pop artist to headline the event in two years. 

“I appreciate the Princeton Undergraduate Social Committee for listening to students. Anecdotally, I knew a lot of people wanted a pop artist as a headliner,” commented Brianna Suliguin ’27. “I think this is a nice change from previous rap headliners.”

Normani’s set lasted just under an hour, concluding with her biggest hits, “Love Lies” and “Dancing with a Stranger,” which sit at 1.1 billion and 1.7 billion streams on Spotify, respectively.  

Although students expressed general excitement over a non-rap headliner, many said they were unfamiliar with Normani’s discography. 

“I enjoyed her presence, I enjoyed her songs, but I didn’t know her at all as an artist,” Lorelei Gorman ’30 told the ‘Prince’ in an interview post-concert.

“I didn’t know any of the songs except for the last one, but it was really cool,” Naomi Lammers ’30 said after the performance. Still, she said the performance was “super awesome.”

Kimberly Hutchinson is a News contributor for the ‘Prince’ and a member of the Class of 2030 from Suwanee, Ga.

Riley Price is a News contributor for the ‘Prince’ and a member of the Class of 2030. 

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.