Janelle Monáe will headline IU’s Hoosier Cosmic Celebration, held from 1-5 p.m., April 8 at Memorial Stadium according to an IU press release.
Tickets will be available on Ticketmaster at 10 a.m., Feb. 9 starting at $19 for the public and $15 for students.
Monáe will join William Shatner and former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, who will also be featured.
Jemison will appear on stage first. She was the first woman of color to travel to space in 1992 and served as an astronaut for six years.
Shatner will give a spoken word performance after Jemison and directly before the eclipse, which take place during the show at approximately 3 p.m. He played Captain Kirk in “Star Trek” and is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner.
Shatner traveled to space in 2021 with Blue Origin, a company owned by Jeff Bezos. It was the company’s second sub-orbital human spaceflight.
A capsule from Blue Origin will be available for tours and space simulations during the event.
RelatedBloomington named a top viewing location for 2024 solar eclipse Bloomington was named a top place to view the rare total solar eclipse taking place April 8 in an Explore article.
Monáe will perform directly after the eclipse. Her album, “The Age of Pleasure,” was released in June 2023 and was nominated for two Grammy Awards on Sunday, though losing to Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” for Album of the Year and SZA’s “SOS” for Best Progressive R&B Album.
She has also appeared in the films “Glass Onion,” “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight.”
Performances from The Marching Hundred and the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance students will also occur at the event.
Bloomington was recently named a top viewing location for the eclipse. The eclipse will be viewable from five IU campuses in total, and all in-person classes will be cancelled.
More information about the performances can be found on the event’s homepage.
