In front, the lounge area was converted into an indoor market with local and student vendors selling everything from clothes and jewelry to art and ceramics! The station gave away free copies of an art zine made with submissions from our DJs, in addition to selling festival T-shirts, tote bags, and stickers. 

Moving through the crowd and into the concert, bands lined the walls selling merch, signing records, and giving out temporary tattoos! With the artists so accessible behind their tables or in the crowd watching other performances, there was a sense of community difficult to find outside of a college radio environment.

But it wasn't just students attending this concert. Headliner Frankie Cosmos polled the room during their show asking "How many of you go to Rutgers," met with the appropriate amount of excited screaming, "And how many of you don't go to Rutgers," surprised the band as the rest of the crowd erupted. While they may not have been the majority, they were just as loud! 

First to the mic that evening was local band Goalie Fight, playing an acoustic set with each song "rearranged for a more intimate performance." The band played as a duo with Mark Dempsey and Dan Taggart on guitar and vocals. They warmed up the crowd, leaving them singing, dancing, and laughing with a discussion of Goalie Fight's latest music video concepts, one in which they were "kicked out" of every Guitar Center in New Jersey. 

Next up was the New Jersey band Lightheaded, with dual guitars, bass, drums, and tambourine. Their alternative jangle pop and rock sound mesmerized the audience, and especially the DJs who in anticipation of the event had been spinning their songs for weeks! As one of my new personal favorite artists, Lightheaded is the perfect example of the amazing, local sounds you can discover through college radio! In addition to the band's founders Stephen Sec (guitar) and Cynthia Rittenbach (bass and vocals), audience members may have recognized some familiar faces in the group: Adam (drums) and Jo (tambourine and backing vocals), members of Starcleaner Reunion, another beloved band in the New Brunswick/New York scene.

Next up, New Brunswick favorite Tula Vera came back between gigs in New York to rock the stage. The energy was incredible and students were moshing, headbanging, and swaying to the strong vocals and psych-rock instrumentals. The four-piece band features Clay Parcells and Dylan Drummond on lead vocals and guitar, Joe Jansen on bass, and Margaret Marino on Drums. Their set was diverse and showed off their incredible range of sound, with something for everybody to love, and it's hard not to love everything!

Long-anticipated, the night ended with the headliner Frankie Cosmos! Greta Kline (vocals/guitar) took the stage, the first on their "college circuit", with Alex Bailey (bass/guitar), and in their group debut, Katie Von Schleicher (keyboard/synth/vocals) and Hugo Stanley (drums). They played the longest set of the night and still managed to keep the energy up after a long day of music festival antics. Their set, like their sound, was sweet, slow at times, and fast at others keeping the audience on their toes, or occasionally off the ground entirely. It was great to see so many devoted fans turn out for such a beloved band, hanging off every lyric, and laughing in between songs in casual conversation with the band. 

Every year, Corefest seems to top the last. We just can't stop out-dong ourselves. And this year, with such amazing acts and vendors, it was especially hard not to love. We can't wait to see what's in store next year! ;)

Here are some pictures of the event taken by our DJs! For more, check out our Instagram @thecorefm!

Lightheaded during their set!

Dylan Drummond and Joe Jansen of Tula Vera

Greta Kline and Hugo Stanley during Frankie Cosmos's performance

Goalie Fight

View of the stage for Goalie Fight's performance

Tula Vera!