NEW ORLEANS (April 11, 2013)-Grammy-awarding singer-actress Brandy, R&B singer-songwriter Elle Varner and New Orleans rapper Curren$y will headline the Spring Fest concert at 7 p.m. Saturday in Dent Hall, culminating more than a week of festivities at Dillard.
With a theme of “DU-TV: Don’t Believe, Just Watch,” the Spring Fest schedule started with the “Dreamgirls” production last weekend and ends with the concert.
Jerald Bowman, director of student engagement and professional development, said the theme was chosen because “we wanted it to be like watching TV for you guys. We’ve worked really hard to bring you guys the entertainment we think you all will want.”
Tickets are $5 pre-sale for Dillard students and $10 general admission.
Brandy Norwood, 34, a native of Mississippi, made her debut album at age 15. She and Monica won a Grammy for their 1998 song “The Boy is Mine.” In 2010, Billboard ranked Norwood in its Top 50 R&B and hip-hop artist lists of the past 25 years.
Along the way, Norwood starred in the UPN sitcom “Moesha” for six seasons, judged the first season of “America’s Got Talent,” appeared on “Dancing with the Stars,” and starred with her family in the VH1 reality show “Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business.” She currently is a regular on the BET comedy series “The Game” and is part of the ensemble cast of Tyler Perry’s new movie drama, “Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor.”
Singer-guitarist Varner’s debut album, “Perfectly Imperfect,” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/hip-hop albums in 2012. She was nominated for a Grammy for best R&B song.
Curren$y signed with Master P’s No Limit Records in 2002 and was a member of the 504 Boyz before moving to Cash Money Records and Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment in 2004. “The Stoned Immaculate,” his eighth studio album, was released by Warner Brothers Records last yearToday: Black Ivy Couture fashion show, 7-9 p.m. in Dent (tickets $3), following by a “Scandal” party at 9:30 p.m. on Kabacoff.
- Friday: Crawfish boil sponsored by the National Pan-Hellenic Council, 11 a.m. on Kabacoff Plaza; Greek Show, 7 p.m., in Dent.
Events already held included the first International Festival on Saturday and a Gospel Explosion on Sunday, featuring New Orleans native gospel artist Jonte Landrum-Thomas, the Vision Chorale, Liturgical/Mime and local choirs. A shimmy contest and the midnight breakfast were held Monday. A job career fair was held in the Professional Schools Building on Tuesday, with “BET Special: Bury the Rachet” at 7 p.m. in Georges Auditorium.
Hump Day on Wednesday featured music and crawfish on Kabacoff, with the Collegiate Black 100’s Fake the Funk at 7 p.m. in Cook Center.
(Antonio Merrick contributed to this report.)
