Overview Dillo Day is Northwestern University's student-run music festival, one Saturday in May on the Lakefill beside Lake Michigan, and the bill that put Kendrick Lamar, Big Boi and Steve Aoki on the same day in 2012. Mayfest Productions, a student organization of ten committees, books and builds it, and calls it the nation's largest student-run music festival. Three stages ran in 2026: the Main Stage, the FMO Stage and The Burrow. Wristbands are free for Northwestern undergraduates, who can add two paid guest wristbands; graduate students, alumni and Evanston residents buy their own. On site The day runs from late morning to night, with student bands opening the Main Stage before the touring acts and the headliner after dark. Each year takes a theme and dresses the Lakefill to match: Carnival Dillo in 2025 brought minigames, photo booths, face painting and a carousel overlooking the lake, and 2026 was Dillo Speedway. Food trucks line the site, and in 2026 they included Harold's Chicken. An official app carries the lineup, the map and security alerts, and a merch store sells the year's themed collection. Audience The crowd is mostly Northwestern undergraduates, and they dress for the theme: stripes and clown costumes for the carnival in 2025, NASCAR-inspired outfits for the speedway in 2026. Wristbands are picked up in person with ID in the week before, on campus in Evanston or at the law school in downtown Chicago, and undergraduates collect their guests' bands for them. Talent and Influencers Cake, The Roots and Lupe Fiasco played in 2007, and Common, Broken Social Scene and Third Eye Blind in 2008. Offset headlined in 2023. In 2025 BigXthaPlug pulled out a day before the show, the Mayfest board worked until 2 a.m. to book iann dior in his place, and Natasha Bedingfield closed the night. Malcolm Todd headlined 2026 on a Main Stage with Daya and Jae Stephens, and Lana Lubany became the first Arab artist in Dillo history on the new Burrow stage. Mayfest's own Battle of the Bands and Battle of the DJs send their winners to the stage. Track record Two students from Austin, Texas, founded Armadillo Productions in 1972 and named it for their home state's official animal. Weather canceled the festival in 1976 and again in 2015; it went online as Digital Dillo in 2020 and ran hybrid in 2021. The 50th Dillo Day was held in 2022, and the 2026 edition was the 54th. Brand presence Mayfest runs a corporate committee that sells sponsorship of the Main Stage and the second stage, the official app, the wristband every attendee wears, the main entrance, the crew's merch and the collectible Dillo cup, along with installations and booths on the Lakefill and Mayfest's Battle of the Bands.