Berklee Artist DWilly Performs at Outside Lands on August 11

Berklee’s Popular Music Institute (BPMI) is sending seven artists to perform at top music festivals in the U.S. and Canada this summer. The program enables students to go from the classroom to the stage in every facet of artist development and touring. BPMI has nearly doubled its festival slate, from four to seven, since piloting the program last summer.

Students will perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago, August 3-6; Osheaga in Montreal, August 4-6; and Outside Lands in San Francisco, August 11-13. Students already performed this summer at ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans, The Governors Ball in New York, Chicago Open Air, and WayHome Music and Arts in Ontario.

Dwilly performs at Outside Lands – headlined by Gorillaz, Metallica, The Who, and A Tribe Called Quest – on Friday, August 11. DWilly, a.k.a. David Wilson, is an urban electronic/hip-hop producer and DJ. Originally from Greenville, SC, Wilson is an electronic production and design student at Berklee. Wilson started classical piano training at 5. At 16, he was exposed to audio engineering and began sequencing small productions in Protools and Ableton. Since then, he has continued to create and collaborate with artists around the country, and has developed his own modern PHAT sound.

Eighteen music business/management students were selected for BPMI’s inaugural class, which began its first full-year cycle in the fall of 2016. The class listened to hundreds of submissions and chose seven student artists to appear at a festival and to feature on its artist compilation, Dorm Sessions 12. Mayah Dyson, Aversed, Flakes, Lady Pills, Olivia Swann, D-Will, and Jack Martini were selected based on live performances, recordings, videos, and social media presence.

The class then split into teams of three, with each team assigned to work with an artist throughout the spring and summer to prepare for their festival appearance. The teams handle artist development, marketing, contracts, tour budgets, digital presence, merchandise, and sponsorships. They will also accompany the artists to each festival to handle on-site promotion; assist with production and tour management; and film the performances and document their travel experiences.

“This year, BPMI breaks new ground in experiential education. The students will travel to their respective festivals in a Berklee/Vans branded tour bus,” said Jeff Dorenfeld, BPMI founding managing director. “The students will also rehearse their artists, preparing them to perform on stages that are 40 to 60 feet wide and over four feet high – much larger than what they’re used to.”