In October 2012, Kendrick Lamar released his sophomore album, “good kid, m.A.A.d. city” to widespread acclaim. Just six months later, the rising rap star took the Spring Weekend stage, which was described by a former Herald writer as “a rare combination of genre innovation and genuine star power.”

Lamar has become one of the most successful Spring Weekend performers, garnering numerous accolades and headlining the Super Bowl halftime show two times after his performance at Brown: once at the Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles alongside former Spring Weekend performers Snoop Dogg and Anderson .Paak, and another time at the Superbowl LIX in New Orleans earlier this year.

Lamar is just one of numerous Spring Weekend artists who have gone on to have some of the most successful careers in music. His visit in 2013 marked the 63rd annual Spring Weekend, which has become one of the most anticipated events of the year for Brunonians.

The roots of Spring Weekend can be traced back to Junior Promenade in 1898, which evolved into All-Campus Weekend after World War II. In 1950, the modern Spring Weekend was born and the Brown Concert Agency was founded in 1960, tasked with bringing up-and-coming artists to campus. In honor of Spring Weekend’s 75th anniversary this Saturday, The Herald took a look back at the artists who defined past Spring Weekends by analyzing Billboard charts, Grammy awards and more.

Lamar (SW 2013) leads previous Spring Weekend performers on the Billboard Hot 100 with a total of 830 weeks on the chart over the past 13 years. In fact, Lamar is currently on top of this week’s chart with “Luther” — a collaboration with SZA — marking his sixth chart-topper on the Hot 100. Five other songs by Lamar also appear on this week’s chart, including “Not Like Us.”

James Brown (SW 1968) comes in at a distant second with a total of 645 weeks on the Hot 100 chart, including his entries with the Famous Flames. When Brown, an R&B artist, performed at Spring Weekend in 1968, “the crowd pulsated, clapped out the beat, danced sitting down, danced standing up,” according to a former Herald writer.

Other notable guests at the 1968 Spring Weekend concert included singer Dionne Warwick — who places sixth for Hot 100 entries among former Spring Weekend performers with a total of 550 weeks — and poet and social activist Allen Ginsberg. This was not the first — nor the last — time Spring Weekend featured non-musicians. Comedians were commonplace in early Spring Weekend concerts and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. even visited in 1967.

Third place for weeks on the Hot 100 is infamous rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs (SW 2011), who performed at the 2011 Spring Weekend concert with R&B singers Dawn Richard and Kalenna Harper as the group “Diddy – Dirty Money.” Diddy — with a total of 637 weeks — has five No. 1 hits on the Hot 100. Since his performance on College Hill, the rapper has faced widespread criticism and public scrutiny. In 2024, Diddy was arrested on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, among other accusations. The rapper is currently awaiting trial and is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

In fourth place, Atlanta rapper Young Thug (SW 2017) has amassed 619 weeks on the chart. His biggest songs include “Havana” with Camila Cabello and “Go Crazy” with Chris Brown, which spent a full year charting on the Hot 100. Close behind in fifth place is Snoop Dogg (SW 2010) with 616 weeks on the chart with hits like “Drop It Like It’s Hot” featuring Pharrell and “California Gurls” with Katy Perry.

Some other notable names in the top 25 include English guitarist and The Yardbirds member, Eric Clapton (SW 1985), rapper Nas (SW 2009) and one of this year’s performers, Offset (SW 2025).

Lamar also leads past Spring Weekend performers in terms of Grammy nominations, receiving a whopping 57, making him one of the most nominated rappers of all-time. Lamar has also garnered some of the most prestigious awards in music, including a Pulitzer Prize for his album “DAMN.” and an Academy Award nomination for his song “All the Stars” with SZA from the movie “Black Panther.”

Lamar is tied with rock band U2 (SW 1983) for the title of the Spring Weekend performer with the most Grammy wins, each earning 22 throughout their musical careers. The band has had considerable success with their live performances, with their 360° Tour between 2009 and 2011 becoming the highest-grossing and most-attended concert tour of all-time upon its completion. Unfortunately, a Herald reporter covering the concert decided to go to Newport instead, upset that the performance was held indoors in Meehan Auditorium when the temperature outside was 77 degrees.

Bruce Springsteen (SW 1974) comes in second place with 20 Grammy wins out of 51 nominations. His other accolades include an Academy Award, the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan (SW 1964, 1997) takes fourth place on the list with 38 Grammy nominations and 11 wins. In 2016, Dylan received the Nobel Prize for Literature, the only Spring Weekend performer with that distinction. He is one of at least 20 artists to perform at multiple Spring Weekend concerts, while rock band NRBQ has performed a staggering five times on campus in 1974, 1978, 1981, 1983 and 1988.

Rounding out the top five is soul music pioneer Ray Charles (SW 1962, 1970), who earned 37 Grammy nominations and 18 wins throughout his career. Charles’s performance at the 1962 concert spawned numerous twisters — students dancing the then-popular “twist” dance — in the aisles of Meehan Auditorium.

Numerous Spring Weekend performers have also won Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards, including Ella Fitzgerald (SW 1965), Jefferson Airplane (SW 1970), The Band (SW 1970) and Grandmaster Flash (SW 1998).

Although Spring Weekend has generally been a domestic affair — with 267 artists coming from the United States — there have been multiple international artists, especially in recent years.

The 1959 Spring Weekend concert saw the first international artist, featuring Italian big-band leader Ralph Marterie (SW 1959) and his orchestra.

It wasn’t until almost a decade later that the next international artists visited Brown’s campus for Spring Weekend. The 1968 Spring Weekend concert had not one, but two rock bands from the United Kingdom: Procol Harum (SW 1968) and The Yardbirds (SW 1968). Just one year later, Spring Weekend featured yet another international artist — flamenco artist Carlos Montoya (SW 1969) from Spain.

Other than the UK, which 18 Spring Weekend artists — including rapper M.I.A. (SW 2008) — call home, the international country that produces the second-most Spring Weekend artists is Canada, with nine. Meanwhile, Jamaica comes in at number three with four artists: Toots and the Maytals (SW 1982, 1989), Pablo Moses (SW 1985), The Wailers Band (SW 1988) and Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers (SW 1990).

Japan and Chile have each sent two artists to Spring Weekend, with Rina Sawayama (SW 2018) and Mitski (SW 2019) hailing from the former, and Nicolas Jaar ’12 (SW 2011) and Elyanna (SW 2024) from the latter.

Zooming into the US, just under half of the artists come from New York or California, with 66 and 44 artists, respectively. New York City alone is home to over 50 Spring Weekend artists. Our northern neighbor, Massachusetts, comes in at third place, sending 17 artists to Spring Weekend. Georgia and New Jersey are tied for fourth place, with each state sending 15 artists to perform on Brown’s campus.

Pennsylvania has been home to 14 Spring Weekend performers, while 11 artists have come from the District of Columbia.

Rhode Island has sent only five artists to Spring Weekend: Roomful of Blues (SW 1976, 1977), Rizzz (SW 1977, 1978), The Mundanes (SW 1980) Deer Tick (SW 2009) and the Undertow Brass Band (SW 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025).

As the music tastes of the general public have shifted over the decades, so have the genres represented at Spring Weekend. The very first iterations of Spring Weekend featured orchestral performances led by jazz musicians, including pianists Elliot Lawrence (SW 1950, 1957) and Teddy Wilson (SW 1952).

With the revival of folk music and the advent of counterculture came the dominance of folk and rock music at Spring Weekend concerts in the 1960s and 1970s. Rock artist Janis Joplin (SW 1969) “electrified” attendees at a Spring Weekend concert that was attended by dozens with forged tickets, according to a 1969 edition of The Herald. Other performers during this decade included Bonnie Raitt (SW 1972, 1978) and Atlanta Rhythm Section (SW 1979).

The 1980s saw the continued popularity of rock but the appearance of fewer folk artists on the Spring Weekend stage. Rap and alternative music, the two genres with the most representation at recent Spring Weekend concerts, first appeared during the 1980s. Alternative rock band R.E.M. (SW 1985) and rapper Afrika Bambaataa (SW 1985) are some other notable performers during this decade.

The domination of rap and alternative music started during the Spring Weekend concerts of the 1990s and 2000s. Brown students enjoyed performances of artists including Coolio (SW 1996), Busta Rhymes (SW 1999), They Might Be Giants (SW 2001) and Lupe Fiasco (SW 2008).

R&B started gaining ground in the 2010s, with artists such as Childish Gambino (SW 2012), Erykah Badu (SW 2017) and Daniel Caesar (SW 2019) making appearances on the Spring Weekend stage. But rap and alternative artists have continued to dominate in recent years. Artists such as Fetty Wap (SW 2016), Mitski (SW 2019), Phoebe Bridgers (SW 2021) and Doechii (SW 2023) have all visited the campus within the past decade.

Other genres that have made an appearance at Spring Weekend include blues — popular during the late 1970s — and dance/electronic, which peaked during the EDM phase of the 2010s. In addition, the 1990s saw the popularity of two genres originating in Jamaica: ska and reggae.

Although popular among the general public and constantly on the radio, both country and pop have rarely been represented at Spring Weekend concerts. Only four country artists and 15 pop artists have been at Spring Weekend in its 75-year-long history.

At this Saturday’s Spring Weekend concert, rap is the most represented genre, with Zack Fox, JT and Offset planned to make appearances on the Main Green. Meanwhile, Ravyn Lenae brings some genre diversity to this year’s concert with her R&B-inspired music.

Spring Weekend 2025

Offset: The rapper has notched 194 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and two top 10 hits, along with three Grammy nominations. nominations

JT: JT has charted 11 weeks on the Hot as a solo act, with six weeks for her 2024 single “Okay.”

Ravyn Lenae: The lead single on her 2024 album "Bird's Eye," "Love Me Not," debuted three weeks ago on the Hot 100 and rose to No. 70 this week.

Zack Fox: Fox has no Hot 100 chart entries or Grammy nominations … yet.