Malcolm Todd to Headline 54th Dillo Day on May 16

malcolm todd will headline Northwestern’s 54th Dillo Day on May 16, putting the 22-year-old singer, songwriter and producer at the center of the nation’s largest student-run music festival. Mayfest Productions announced the booking on Monday, giving Northwestern students a clear target on the spring calendar and a headliner with a fast-moving chart record.

Lakefill Booking

Dillo Day draws 12,000+ attendees to the Lakefill on Northwestern’s lakefront campus in Evanston, Illinois, and undergraduates get free admission. That combination gives the festival a campus footprint far larger than a typical student concert, while reserved tickets for Northwestern undergraduates are due by May 14.

For Todd, the slot follows a run that turned short-form momentum into label and chart traction. He debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, signed with Columbia Records after his 2023 releases gained traction on TikTok and Spotify, and returned to the chart with the 2024 single Chest Pain (I Love).

Todd’s 2023 Breakthrough

Roommates and Art House, both released in 2023, built the audience that made this booking plausible. Todd then released Breathe on March 13 and I Saw Your Face on April 24, extending a release schedule that kept him in circulation as Mayfest decided on the Dillo Day headliner.

Avalon Bookstaver of the Mayfest Productions Bookings Team said, “I was searching for the next indie artist to rise to the top of my playlist when ‘Roommates’ appeared in a Spotify smart shuffle. I was hooked immediately. The airy tone of Todd’s vocals, his impossibly catchy melodies, and inventive bridges cement him as one of the best rising artists of our time.”

May 14 Ticket Deadline

The practical date for students is May 14, when reserved tickets are due. After that, the live question is not whether Dillo Day has scale — it does — but how much of Northwestern’s campus audience turns out for an artist who has already moved from TikTok and Spotify momentum to Billboard visibility.