Dante Motley, Contributing Photographer

This year’s student lineup for Spring Fling has arrived. Set to take the stage alongside the concert’s big names are the rock band Tired of Tuesday, Whiffenpoofs alum PJ Frantz ’23 and Caitlyn Clark ’23 — who performs under the stage name DJ Leon Thotsky.

The decisions were announced Sunday afternoon following Saturday’s Battle of the Bands, a competition between eight student acts at the Yale Farm. Attendees voted for their favorite acts to open for Pusha T, Ravyn Lenae and Dombresky, who will be performing at 2023’s Spring Fling. 

“I definitely wouldn’t be playing Spring Fling if it weren’t for my friends, especially the ones that are always sharing new music with me and encouraging me to get out there and DJ even when I get shy or nervous,” said Clark, who revealed that she applied for Battle of the Bands an hour before the deadline due to self-doubt. “No sneak peaks yet, but people should get ready to dance hard!”

Drawing inspiration from Octo Octa, Eris Drew, Darwin and Ben UFO, she has been DJing for almost a year, learning through YouTube videos and her own research. For her, the most gratifying part of producing and remixing music is putting on a good party for people to enjoy themselves and their company.

Though skill and practice are important, she explained, it is even more essential to watch the crowd and cultivate an environment where everyone has a good time and is able to connect with the music. A modified recording of her Battle of the Bands setlist can be found here. 

Like Clark, Frantz — who performed a set of original songs as well as a cover of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” on Saturday  — is still exploring his musical interests. Boasting an Instagram following of over 15,000, he first started gaining traction through TikTok, where a video of him performing his song “downbad” garnered over 50,000 views. 

He is hesitant to box himself into a particular genre but said that if he had to describe his work, it would be a blend of indie and “sad boy” pop. To prospective Spring Fling attendees, he added that they can expect more unreleased songs on the “big day,” in addition to various Easter eggs he intends to drop through his social media platforms. 

The lead up to the big day will also bring practice, excitement, hard work and anticipation from Tired of Tuesday, members of the band wrote in a collective statement to the News. 

“We are immensely grateful that the hard work we put in translated into a fun show for both the band and the [Saturday] audience,” the statement read. 

Tired of Tuesday members —  Cameron Rao ’23, Conrad Cuevas ’23, John Paciga ’23, Adin Ring ’23 and Ian Richardson ’25 — mentioned that being in the audience at Battle of the Bands was as fun as performing themselves.

After dancing to the other acts — which included last year’s BOTB winners Strictly Platonic — they played a collection of original songs and covers in a rock set with indie, pop and jazz undertones. 

“Honestly I’m just happy to be here playing music with friends,” guitar player Cuevas said. “As cool as playing on a big stage is, it really wouldn’t matter if we didn’t have a total blast every time we played together. This is one of those bucket list experiences that none of us will ever forget.”

The 2023 Spring Fling is slated to take place on April 29, 2023 on Old Campus. 

Correction 4/12: The article was updated to reflect Caitlyn Clark’s preferences for her musical title and responsibilities.