NLE Choppa performs at a hot and sunny Fall Fest 2024

Pitt hosted NLE Choppa at Fall Fest on Oct. 6. Organized by the Pitt Program Council’s Special Events Committee, Fall Fest 2024 welcomed Lil Tracy, Angry Blackmen and Yung $henron to the stage before NLE Choppa performed. Offering a full afternoon of live music and food trucks, Fall Fest drew a crowd of a few hundred Pitt students. 

With almost 19 million monthly listeners on Spotify, NLE Choppa has a large fanbase. NLE Choppa performed some of his hit songs for the crowd including “Camelot,” “Shotta Flow” and multiple versions of “Slut Me Out.” NLE Choppa had an energetic stage presence, dancing and jumping around the stage as he sang. The headliner frequently interacted with the audience — towards the end of his set, NLE Choppa moved down to the barricade to get closer to the cheering crowd. Fans of NLE Choppa’s arrived at the festival early in hopes of securing a spot close to the stage. 

Festival attendees sat around Schenley and chatted as they waited for NLE Choppa’s performance. Members of PPC filled the time in between performers with free T-shirt giveaways and popular songs playing over the speakers. As soon as the rapper came on stage, the hushed crowd burst into cheers. 

Hungry attendees had many options thanks to the variety of food trucks parked along Schenley. Korean corn dogs were popular among students, along with iced coffee and lemonade to keep concertgoers cool in the sun.

As NLE Choppa performed, students danced along to the music and cheered for him. NLE Choppa’s parents, who are known to join their son on stage during shows, joined him during his Fall Fest performance. NLE Choppa’s mom, affectionately known by fans as “Momma Choppa,” even sang a few bars with her son during the set. 

Towards the end of his set, NLE Choppa asked the crowd to “put their hearts up.” Audience members raised their hands in the air to make the shape of a heart for the rapper. NLE Choppa expressed his love for attendees.

“The same way y’all love and appreciate me,” NLE Choppa said, “I love and appreciate y’all.”

Rose Quezada Flores, a first-year neuroscience major, is a big fan of NLE Choppa. Flores was skeptical of PPC’s promise to bring out the famed rapper. 

“I enjoyed it so much. Like, I literally did not expect this at all,” Flores said. “At first I thought lowkey it was gonna be like a prank, but when he came out everything got so hype, I genuinely enjoyed it.”

Yung $henron, winner of the “Pitt Factor” competition hosted by PPC, was the first opener of the afternoon. $henron is part of a music group called Frozenboyz. $henron interacted with the audience as the crowd grew. 

Following $henron, Angry Blackmen performed as WPTS’ choice of opener. The experimental hip-hop duo from Chicago started making music together in 2017. The pair stepped off of the main stage and led the crowd in call and response. 

Lil Tracy was the final opener before NLE Choppa came on stage. After gaining popularity through his collaborations with Lil Peep, Lil Tracy quickly made a name for himself. The crowd screamed with excitement as Lil Tracy walked onto the stage. 

Each artist brought a different sound to the Schenley stage. The variation in popularity and style granted audience members a chance to expand their musical palette and discover new artists. 

From finding the artists to building the stage, Fall Fest is organized by students. Riley Keenan, a junior communications and theater arts major, is the special events director for PPC. Keenan has been planning the festival since May. 

“Honestly, the amount of time it takes,” Keenan said, “it’s all worth it for how much people love it.”

Keenan recognized the members of PPC for their hard work in organizing the festival.

“Everyone at PPC has worked really hard,” Keenan said. “It’s not just one person that does it all. It really takes a team and our team is amazing and they put in the work.”

Fall Fest requires a team of students to come together. Adalia Falvey, a sophomore sociology major, worked on the festival as a special event committee member for PPC. 

“[PPC has been] working on it since the beginning of the semester,” Falvey said. “It’s fun to see the behind-the-scenes things.”

The heat certainly had an impact on students at the festival. While waiting for NLE Choppa to come out, the sun and humidity became too much for some. The PPC handed out water bottles and ice bags to overheating students. 

Students were pleased with NLE Choppa’s performance and with the festival as a whole. Bethany Tome, a sophomore music and communications science major, commended the university for providing students with unique opportunities. 

“I loved it. I had so much fun,” Tome said. “We get a lot of cool opportunities at Pitt.”