Accomplished and critically acclaimed musician and performer Remi Wolf will take the podium as commencement speaker and recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award for the USC Thornton School of Music graduates. The Thornton commencement ceremony is scheduled for May 16, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. and will take place at the Epstein Family Plaza at the University Park Campus.
“I am honored to be selected as the 2025 commencement speaker for the Thornton School of Music,” said Wolf. “My time at USC has deeply informed my career and I am excited to connect with the next generation of artists that will emerge from our USC family.”
Wolf is a risk-taker who continues to shatter the traditional rules across genres and in the industry. Wolf, who is in the midst of her international “Big Ideas Tour, Part 2,” has racked up over two billion global streams, had top billing at festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Outside Lands, and opened for artists such as fellow Trojan Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde and Paramore. Along the way, she’s collaborated with the likes of Nile Rodgers, Beck, Still Woozy, Sylvan Esso, Dominic Fike, and more.
“I am excited for our newest Thornton graduates to hear from Remi Wolf because of her recent success and her familiarity with the USC experience,” said Jason King, dean of the USC Thornton School of Music. “She has quite literally been in the seats where the students themselves are sitting and she knows what it means to inspire our new alumni, across all of our departments and divisions, to make their impact on the industry.”
Since releasing her critically acclaimed 2021 full-length debut, Juno, the world has found it hard to look away from the irreverent, bold, and colorful star. In July 2024, Remi released her latest album, Big Ideas, via Island Records. The album has garnered critical acclaim from Billboard, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Vogue, Pitchfork, and many more. Big Ideas is an emotionally complex, funky project that reflects on her transient life on the road over the last few years.
In support of the new album, Remi made her debut performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with a live rendition of “Cinderella” and performed the album’s focus track “Soup” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! NPR Tiny Desk host Bobby Carter called her “a superhero who isn’t entirely aware of her powers.”
