On Saturday, singer and Hollywood Walk of Fame star recipient Andranik Madadian — better known by his stage name Andy — will perform at Foellinger Auditorium. The event is organized and presented by the Iranian Heritage Foundation. 

Doors open 6:30 p.m. for the 7:45 p.m. show.

Andy is an Iranian Armenian singer who immigrated to Los Angeles at the age of 22 to pursue education and started playing small clubs in his time off. Now, over 40 years later, he is a globally recognized artist who has played venues from Dubai to China, with Champaign-Urbana soon to be added to the list. 

Andy has a portfolio of 15 solo albums since his 1979 debut and numerous collaborations, including a song with Bon Jovi. His most popular tracks include “Dokhtare Irooni” and “Khoshgela Bayad Beraghsand.”

His decades-long career displays a style of versatility, incorporating traditional Persian sounds with modern flares.

One of his most popular albums, 2000’s “And My Heart…,” features singing in Persian, English, Spanish, Armenian, Arabic and Urdu.

In addition to his discography, Andy is a recipient of many musical and humanitarian awards including the 2017 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, presented to those who have “shown an outstanding commitment to serving our nation either professionally, culturally or civically.”

In 2020, Andy received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a popular honor for professional achievement and community contribution in the U.S. Other famous musicians to receive the award include Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie.

“I would say we’ve grown up with (Andy’s) music,” said Mehrdad Mohammadi, graduate student studying statistics, about his fellow students in the Iranian Heritage Foundation. “So we are pretty excited about this, all the community.”

The Iranian Heritage Foundation is not unfamiliar with hosting big-name artists. Last semester, the Foundation hosted singer and guitarist Faramarz Aslani and singer Leila Forouhar the semester before.

“We are well known that we have one of the largest expenditures in cultural programming,” Mohammadi said, explaining how the Foundation is able to host big-name artists on a routine basis. “So that gave us a really good recognition by (Andy] and their manager in that sense.”

Their recognition by major artists also stems from the Foundation’s longstanding history at the University.

“It’s been 63 years that we [have been] on campus,” Mohammadi said. “We try to keep our integrity for fostering cultural events and also performing arts events, trying to promote diversity and inclusion on campus since then.”

When considering how to promote diversity and inclusion, the Foundation leans heavily on music. 

“The universal language of art and music is something that we count on to be able to talk about our cultural values for people who are interested in diversity and inclusion,” Mohammadi said.

When considering an artist who would represent these values as well as deliver a musical performance that could line up with big-name concerts in the past, Andy checked all the boxes. 

“Someone like Andy Madadian has a really high portfolio that makes a really good candidate (to work) towards the same goal,” Mohammadi said.

The Iranian community is alive at the University, but outside of campus, Champaign-Urbana is a relatively small city with minimal Iranian presence. Nonetheless, Mohammadi believes there will be a significant turnout. 

“We had people and students who (were) even traveling from nearby states like Iowa,” Mohammadi said. “Some people were coming from Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana from Purdue University and Washington University in St. Louis.”

Mohammadi estimates the attraction of the Foundation’s cultural events will result in 400-500 attendees, a sizable amount for an Iranian cultural event in central Illinois. 

Andy has songs in many languages including Persian, Armenian, English and Spanish, so Mohammadi encourages students unfamiliar with Iranian culture to come experience the event too.

“It’s nice to give it a shot even once in your lifetime to have a Halloween party in a Persian theme,” Mohammadi said.

Tickets are on sale on the Iranian Heritage Foundation website. 

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