In its third year on campus, the Revelry Music and Arts Festival drew just shy of 7,000 students and community members to festival grounds spanning the Memorial Union Terrace and Library Mall Saturday.
A team of 22 students started working in October to bring new focuses to the festival, including expanding the arts presence, increasing student involvement and establishing a stronger relationship with the Madison community, according to Revelry Marketing Director Ronan Daly.
“We pivoted the stage, moved it around and the really cool thing about this is bigger capacity, more space but it also allows you to have that more artistic feel,” Daly said.
Festival-goers said they appreciated Revelry’s evolution over the last year.
“This year, there was a lot more hype. Also, this year it’s facing the Memorial Union instead of being on the road so there’s a lot more room to stand and walk around,” said freshman Grace McMurray.
The festival, which hosted similar crowd numbers as last year, featured six performances on the main stage, including AlunaGeorge, the Chainsmokers and headliner Chance The Rapper.
In addition to its main stage, Revelry featured nine free performances on the Memorial Union Terrace stage, which gave local and up-and-coming artists the opportunity to perform in the festival.
Local rock band Modern Mod said they were glad to have the opportunity to expand their audience.
“[Being part of the festival] gives us a broader range of audience, a lot of UW kids were coming to this, and a lot of people we wouldn’t have reached before. Even having our name on the bill makes us a little bit more legit, which is nice,” said Emily Massey, lead singer of Modern Mod.
Though a majority of the attendees were drawn to the main stage performers, many also said they came to enjoy the festival atmosphere.
Freshman Kenzie Engel said she was not familiar with the bands at Revelry, but was excited to dance all day.
Police received 17 calls for service, issued three underage drinking tickets and one citation for possession of drug paraphernalia. They also transported six individuals to detox for overconsumption of alcohol, UW-Madison Police Department Lieutenant Aaron Chapin said.
Revelry Executive Director and sophomore Ben Arden said changes to the festival help it grow and will continue in upcoming years.
“It’s gotten so much bigger and better than when it started and it’s going to keep progressing,” Arden said. “That’s the beautiful thing about this event.”
