Young Thug, Demetri Martin to perform free show at UF

A polarizing rapper and a guitar-playing, stand-up comedian are coming to UF on Friday for a night of free entertainment.

The Reitz Union Board Entertainment announced Monday that comedian Demetri Martin and rapper Young Thug will perform at the fourth annual Big Orange Festival, a free show for students with a valid Gator 1 Card.

Martin will be performing in the Reitz Grand Ballroom at 9 p.m., and Thug will be in the Rion Ballroom at 11 p.m.

Students can pick up one ticket for only one of the shows on Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the North Lawn tabling area.

Martin is being paid $30,000, and Thug is being paid $68,000, said Kaitlin Milligan, the RUB Entertainment president. The money comes from the organization’s budget.

Milligan said she’s excited for these two performers, who she said are both at the peak of their careers.

“I think every year we’re trying to make students excited about Big Orange,” she said. “We have two very relevant artist who are very talented in their respective fields.”

The two were chosen after students voted in an online survey on RUB’s social media pages in September, she said. Martin was the first choice for students for comedy.

The band X Ambassadors, which was surveyed as students’ first pick for music, was scheduled to come but booked a festival the day of Big Orange. Milligan said RUB went with Thug because he would be a popular performance for students and was available for the event.

Last year’s performances from DJ Khaled and Bo Burnham reached maximum capacity, and Milligan said she hopes the same happens this year. The Grand Ballroom’s capacity is 900, and the Rion Ballroom’s capacity is 700.

In addition to other activities at the festival, including carnival rides and a photo booth on the North Lawn, Milligan said she expects about 2,000 students to attend.

Austin Brown, a 22-year-old UF statistics senior, said he plans to be in the crowd for Thug’s show.

He’s been listening to the Atlanta rapper since his freshman year of college and is excited to see how his personality transitions to a live performance, he said.

Brown said Thug has tested the masculine-dominated rap genre by wearing a light purple dress in his most recent album cover and painting his nails.

“He’s hugely influential as far as rappers and hip hop is concern,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a really good show.”

Contact Paige Fry at pfry@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @paigexfry

 

Demetri Martin (left) and Young Thug (right)