Grammy-Winner Daya to Headline Crimson Jam 2024

Updated August 29, 2024, at 11:54 a.m.

Grammy award-winning singer Daya will headline Crimson Jam, Harvard’s annual outdoor back-to-school concert for undergraduates, the College announced at a freshman orientation event Thursday morning.

Daya, best known for her 2015 single “Hide Away,” which peaked at number 23 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in March 2016, will perform in the Old Yard on Friday, Sept. 6. She was also featured on The Chainsmokers’ single “Don’t Let Me Down,” for which she won a 2016 Grammy Award for best dance recording.

Student groups Boom Boom Sauce, Midnight Curfew, and Vinyl Club will open the event, according to a College Events Board press release. The groups were selected based on their performance at Battle for Yardfest, CEB’s annual “battle of the bands” competition.

Previous Crimson Jam headliners include Nicky Youre and Social House. In 2021, B.o.B. was announced as the headliner but the event was indefinitely postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and Giveon performed at a virtual rendition of the concert in 2020.

The announcement comes as the Dean of Students Office and College Events Board, which organize annual concerts like Crimson Jam and Yardfest, face budgetary constraints when negotiating artist contracts. Students have increasingly opted out of the annual $200 Student Activities Fee, which provides funding for the College Events Board.

In interviews with The Crimson, Associate Dean for Student Engagement Jason R. Meier has attributed student dissatisfaction with the College’s social events to a shrinking SAF fund.

“A lot of students don’t realize, by opting out, they’re exacerbating this larger problem that we already have,” Meier said in an April interview.

Student opt-outs have accounted for a $70,000 decrease in SAF funding during the 2024 fiscal year.

Still, students gave positive reviews of this year’s Yardfest headliner, Tinashe, who released her viral single “Nasty” only four days after her April performance in Tercentenary Theatre.

Undergraduates have until Sept. 1 to opt out of the Student Activities Fee, though those who opt out will still be allowed entry to Crimson Jam.

​​—Staff writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on Threads @azusalippit.