This year’s Juice Jam will be more unique than those in past years.

Falling on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the event will host big-name headliners as well as commemorative services.

Syracuse University’s 8th annual Juice Jam concert will take place on Sunday, Sept.11 at 3:30 p.m. on Skytop Field. The student involvement fair will be set up, showcasing more than 100 on-campus organizations. This year’s concert will feature Swedish house-electronic DJ Avicii and rapper B.o.B. as headliners. Rap duo Chiddy Bang will be the opening act.

Tickets for faculty, staff and students at SU and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry are available for $10 at the Schine Student Center box office or online for the rest of the week. Students who attend nearby universities can purchase tickets for $20 with valid IDs.

Briana Cacuci, University Union’s vice president, is excited about the music that will be performed at Juice Jam.

Avicii, relatively new to the house-electronic music scene, completed his first world tour last year. He sometimes performs under the pseudonym Tim Berg, the name under which he produced one of his most well-known singles, ‘Bromance.’

B.o.B., also known as Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., gained popularity with his first hit single ‘Nothin’ on You’ featuring Bruno Mars. He has since released two other singles, his biggest hits ‘Airplanes’ and ‘Magic.’

Chiddy Bang is a hip-hop duo made of two former Drexel University students, Chidera ‘Chiddy’ Anamege and Noah ‘Xaphoon Jones’ Beresin. The duo’s music career began in 2009 when they released ‘The Swelly Express,’ a mixtape featuring their hit single ‘Opposite of Adults.’

Cacuci said she is also happy about the commemorative aspect of the concert. In honor of the 9/11 anniversary, UU has partnered with Hendricks Chapel to jump-start SU’s chapter of Better Together, a youth-led initiative that aims to improve communities through active participation from students. Cacuci said she thinks UU will help spread the word about the initiative.

The partnership will give students the chance to become involved with the initiative either by donating a canned good or helping make care packages and bagged lunches at the concert, Cacuci said.

In addition to partnering with Hendricks, UU has also planned two commemorative events that will happen during the concert to honor the victims of 9/11 and their families. These events will include the singing of the national anthem and a moment of silence.

Although Cacuci acknowledges the large amount of debate among students due to the concert’s date, she said she still feels strongly about the events and the effect they will have.

‘I think it’s even more important this year that a whole population of students can be together and show respect,’ Cacuci said. ‘Our generation has grown up with this, and it’s something that resonates with all of us.’

Some students do not share the same sentiments. While Erica Schmitt, a senior public relations major, recognizes and appreciates UU’s attention to the 9/11 anniversary, she still does not feel the concert should take place on the same day.

‘The two ideas seem to clash. The celebration of the beginning of a new school year shouldn’t fall on a time for us to reflect on everything we lost (on Sept.11),’ Schmitt said.

Cacuci said UU’s decision to have the concert on 9/11 was a direct result of the schedules of the artists who are set to perform.

saschmal@syr.edu

Published on September 7, 2011 at 12:00 pm