On Wednesday April 9, the Floralia performer lineup, which Connecticut College students have highly anticipated since before spring break, was finally released with headliner Waka Flocka Flame. Flame is most well known for his 2010 hit “No Hands” featuring Roscoe Dash and Wale. This song was one of the most popular college and house party songs of the 2010s.
Following the reveal of the Floralia artists, students had lots of opinions to share. The majority of these opinions surround Flame’s political leanings. In November of 2024, Flame posted a photo with President Donald Trump, proudly proclaiming he “chose Trump for his own reasons,” and discouraging fans from engaging in “public disrespect” over this choice.
Students expressed their disappointment in the Student Activities Council (SAC) for choosing an artist with such opinions during this divisive and disruptive time.
Kate Bridges ‘27 said, “I was already disappointed with the decision initially because I—as well as many other students—wanted a pop artist, and my friend in SAC said they were going to do that. Then they ended up with another washed-up rapper.” She added that once she saw an Instagram post showing Flame is a vocal Trump supporter, she was even more disappointed because the state of our country is in a “dark place” right now and “art is and always has been political.” While Bridges tells students “they can listen to ‘problematic’ musicians on their own if they want to, using everyone’s money to financially reward them is not okay.” Other students questioned the organizers for potentially not spending enough time researching and vetting potential artists.
However, as students dug into the rest of the line up, excitement began brewing about Boyscott, a small indie band from Nashville that achieved fame following their multi-million streaming hit, “Goosebumps.” Boyscott is a repeat performer at Floralia, having played at Flo ‘23 as well.
Warm-up artists include She-J Hercules, a DJ from Miami who has performed at previous Conn dances and events such as Fall Ball and the 2023 Fall Carnival. She typically plays a mix of rap and remixes of popular songs.
Several Conn student bands and solo performers also join the lineup of artists including Brisa Azul, student musician Ari Benjamin ‘25, MOBROC’s Kitchen #5, Scott Ansin-Blanchard ‘27 and more. Ansin-Blanchard covers songs such as “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, “Lady May” by Tyler Childers, and multiple Zach Bryan songs. He has been working on a few originals as well, including one against Trump called “No Kings in America.”
New to Flo this year is Lisa Heller, a local artist hailing from Simsbury, CT. Heller is a singer songwriter, perhaps most well known for her breakout song and music video, “Hope,” which achieved recognition throughout Europe and Australia. Heller is a indie-pop singer/songwriter from Simsbury, CT and has opened for popular artists such as Yung Gravy, COIN, and Echosmith to name a few. Some of her most recent songs include “Cheetos n’ Coke” and “Is Anyone Listening?”
More first-timers include DJ P-Dogg, a local DJ from Durham, CT who typically plays a variety of music, including hip-hop, R&B, Top 40, and EDM as well as MDOT Finley, an actor and R&B singer-songwriter who is featured in the Disney Channel Original Movie “Camp Rock 2.” Nikki and the Barn Boys, an indie rock band from Massachusetts, will also be performing. Their popular songs include “2AM,” “Complicated Love,” “Drive,” and “Indigo.”
Red Lion is a local reggae band from Waterford, CT and considers itself “a tribute to reggae music of the 70’s and 80’s.” Stara Best rises to the Flo stage as an artist who is best known for her covers, but also has a few originals, including “The Path,” “Star,” and “Try Me,” all from her 2024 EP “An Eruption of Thoughts.” Conn also welcomes 3 Hours Later, described on their Facebook page as a “super wicked fun CT band playing an eclectic mix of covers and originals from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s guaranteed to get you singin’ and swingin’.”
No matter which artist most excites you, it is certain that students are counting down the days until Conn’s annual spring music festival.
