Koffee, a Reggae singer from Jamaica, will be headlining this year’s Bandersnatch concert. DUCKWRTH will also be performing along with opener Troyce Pitones, according to a University Union press release. 

Mikayla “Koffee” Simspon, is a reggae style artist from Spanish Town, Jamaica who began writing music in her bedroom. She was inspired by artists like Protoje and Supercat, who are also from Jamaica. 

The 5-foot, self-described “sing-jay-guitarist,” released her debut EP “Rapture,” in March with her most popular song is “Toast” with over 33 million listens on Spotify. She also worked with Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran and Chronixx to create a rendition of Bieber and Sheeran’s song “I Don’t Care.”

In January 2018, popular reggae artist, Cocoa Tea brought Koffee on stage at Rebel Salute music festival in Jamaica. 

DUCKWRTH, also known as Jared Lee, is a rapper from South Los Angeles who’s “known for releasing honest, in your face, genre-defying music,” according to UU’s press release.

In 2016, he released his debut LP entitled “I’M UUGLY,” and released a mixtape in 2017 entitled, “an XTRA UUGLY Mixtape.” But the artist’s most recent work is his EP “THE FALLING MAN,” which was released earlier this year. 

DUCKWRTH’s most popular songs on Spotify include “Start a Riot,” which was featured in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and has more than 35 million streams, “MICHUUL.” with over 18 million streams and “Crush,” with over a million streams. 

Khari Brandes, professionally known as Troyce Pitones, is a DJ and SU junior in the Bandier program, and will be opening Friday’s event. Pitones grew up in London and originally started DJing and learning DJ technical skills at age 12. 

He often plays at house parties at Syracuse University and played at two launch parties for the radio station WERW. Back home in London, Pitones said he started playing at clubs a lot more often when he turned 18. 

Pitones said that when he produces beats they tend to be hip-hop and R&B with a “trap influence.” He said that his music has a “UK-leaning sound with American influences.” 

While he said his music tends to fit those two themes, he tries to cater to his audience.

“I’m pretty versatile when I play music but it also just depends on the crowd a lot,” Pitones said. “I want to please the crowds as well as play the stuff that I like, so I try and keep a wide range of interests in order to be adaptable.”

The concert is being held on Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium. Tickets are currently on sale for $5 for students and $10 for faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Women’s Building Box Office.

Published on September 29, 2019 at 7:00 pm

Contact Sarah: srslavin@syr.edu