To celebrate the end of the year, The Canopy Club will bring live music outdoors with its first ILLRock Block Party on Saturday. The party will take place on Oregon Street in Urbana near Manolo’s Pizza and Empanadas and the School of Music building. Gates will open at 1 p.m. and the show will end around midnight, according to Michael Armintrout, talent buyer and director of marketing for Jay Goldberg Events and Entertainment.

The Canopy Club and its interns created ILLRock Block Party after brainstorming ways to incorporate “new” and “unique” events, Armintrout said. 

“As opposed to just doing a philanthropy concert at the Canopy, we all thought what this campus was lacking was an outdoor end of semester event,” he said.

The lineup will feature artists including Chiddy Bang, Shwayze, Future Rock, Down With Webster, Taylor Bennett, Church Booty, Frank Leone and Sneezy. The show’s performers represent a mix of hip hop, rock, electronic and rap music. 

“There’s going to be an eclectic sound,” said Frank Leone, performer in the show and freshman in FAA. “There’s going to be music for everyone within my set, and there’s going to be music for everyone within the whole show.”

Crofton Coleman, sophomore in FAA, will also play at the show with Church Booty, a local band that formed two years ago. 

“We’re developing our own sound,” Coleman said, who sings for the group. “We’re jazz-influenced and funk sound with a few straight pop covers.”

The show will also feature national acts like Down With Webster, a rap and rock band from Toronto, Canada. This will be the band’s first time in Urbana during its 16 years of performing — and it fits right in.

“We like to say our sound is like iPod shuffle music,” said Tyler Armes, bassist and keyboardist. “We have six different guys in the band and everybody has a different taste and style.” 

But apart from showcasing a wide array of music, the event is designed to draw attention to the diversity seen in campus and community developments, Armintrout said.

“It’s important for the campus and the community at large to be reminded that all of these things are here,” he said. “If this neighborhood can be the backdrop and the landscape for this event, hopefully it will bring more attention to all of those different aspects.” 

Tickets cost $20 in advance and can be purchased through The Canopy Club’s official website or at Manolo’s Pizza and Empanadas and Exile on Main Street, a music store in downtown Champaign. Prices may vary on the day of the event at the gates, according to Armintrout.

An after-party will follow the end of the show at The Canopy Club and will cost $5 for ILLRock Block Party attendees and $10 for others.  

Stephanie can be reached at [email protected].

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Alpha Epsilon Pi and Sigma Alpha Mu were putting on the ILLrock Block Party. The fraternities are marketing the event. The Daily Illini regrets the error.