Foam pits, face paint and three stages equal one pretty solid Saturday afternoon. Revelry Music and Arts Festival served as an alternative option for student festivities this weekend–but was it successful? 

With roughly $100,000 to spend on the event, many students were disappointed the festival failed to bring a solid headliner to the event. Three stages were created at and around Union South: one in The Sett, one in the plaza outside of Union South and one on Randall Avenue. When walking, crowd-goers were immediately presented with an interactive art exhibit where people could write things that are on their bucket lists. The two dreams seen most often were “Fall in love” and “Mifflin.” If that doesn’t describe the population of the University of Wisconsin, nothing does. 

Hoodie Allen, the main headliner, played his poppy, catchy raps to a crowd of about 1,000 people. Although one concert-goer described Allen as “hip-hop for a 15-year-old girl,” Madison seemed to love him and the feeling was mutual. Allen repeated over and over again how impressed he was with the audience; later tweeting “Wisco is the best college in America WOW “#TURNUP” and “That was so fucking nuts. I wish every show brought it as hard as that “#Wisco “#MIFFLIN “#revelry.” He also brought students up on stage for a dance competition and played “All The Small Things” as a throwback to Blink-182. Even for someone unfamiliar with Hoodie Allen, he played such an engaging show it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement. 

At the DJ Booth where The Al Gore Rhythm Method performed, audience members could get an almost private show. There was a total of 10 people, mostly bros, dancing in an overwhelming amount of foam. The foam was misplaced – it would have been more successful if the foam had been at the Plaza Stage where Hoodie Allen performed. There was more foam than there were people, and not because The Al Gore Rhythm Method set was bad, because they weren’t, but because the audience was just not there. 

Indie band Toro y Moi also brought their eccentric mix of beats and lyrics to the Plaza Stage. The crowd was filled with hipsters familiar with the up-and-coming band. Toro y Moi’s unique mixture of sounds proved this band has all the potential to become the next big thing – in the indie music world, that is. 

So to answer the question – was Revelry a success? I certainly had a wonderful afternoon, leaving the festival with kitty whiskers painted on my face. The festival had a fun setup and the organizers deserve full credit for planning an event filled with different activities. What Revelry lacked, though, was the crowd. Shows like The Al Gore Rhythm Method set could have been a blast if the audience had been there to dance it up in the foam. Hoodie Allen drew the largest crowd – but an unfriendly one where audiences were pushed and pummeled. 

The Revelry organizers did the best they could to plan an event that would appeal to everyone – but there was going to be too much opposition to an alternative to Mifflin, no matter what Revelry did. If Revelry hadn’t coincided with Mifflin Street Block Party festivities, it would have drawn larger crowds and been more successful.