1. No Rain, No Gain

They call it Mayfest, but today, there were April showers. Walnut Park turned from a patch of grass to a sea of mud. Concertgoers didn’t let the poor conditions get in the way, though. The turnout was strong and the crowd did not lack enthusiasm with both moshing and crowd surfing.

2. Vince Staples: Jokester First, Rapper Second

The Long Beach, California native got the crowd to a level of rowdiness it hadn’t seen all day with songs like “Norf Norf” and “Blue Suede,” but his commentary commanded some reactions too. Staples debated with his hype man whether Syracuse has more love for Hakim Warrick, who made the block in the final seconds of the men’s basketball team’s only championship, or Carmelo Anthony, the freshman who had the biggest contribution to that championship season.

3. Flying Solo

Louis The Child is an EDM duo from Chicago, but only one man was behind the rig on stage today. Their camp has said it’s because Robby Hauldren had final exams at the University of Southern California. Freddy Kennett, the other half of Louis The Child, fared just fine on his own — remixes from Zella Day, Mike Snow and Ty Dolla $ign highlighted a set capped off with their biggest original song yet, “It’s Strange.”

4. PUBLIC Service Announcement

Keep your eyes on the indie pop band from Cincinnati. PUBLIC may have had the smallest crowd at Mayfest because of an early time slot, but their bubbly music got everyone there dancing. Most of their set came from their 2015 album, “Let’s Remake It,” but a cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” was what got the crowd involved the most. Having opened for both Walk The Moon and Twenty One Pilots, the currently unsigned band could be poised to be the next big thing out of Ohio.

5. Corndogs For All These People

Mayfest is more than just a concert. For students, food is free with the price of tuition. Corndogs are a crowd pleaser, but soggy cheesesteaks were also on a menu of grilled items. Outside of food, there was an inflatable obstacle course. Maybe the most intriguing form of entertainment was the silent disco — a tent where the music is played through wireless headphones instead of a speaker system.

Published on April 29, 2016 at 7:03 pm

Contact: jtbloss@syr.edu | @jtbloss