Over 600 Stevens students gathered in the River Lot on Friday night for Techfest 2015. Hosted by the Entertainment Committee, this year’s Techfest featured Cleo, a New Jersey based DJ, and was headlined by alternative hip hop artist, Chiddy Bang.
There was reason to believe that Techfest 2015 wouldn’t measure up to Techfests of recent years. It had been moved from its original date in anticipation of Hurricane Joaquin. As a result, the show had to compete with other events around campus on Friday night which could have drawn students away. Additionally, it was part of R.A.G.E, a festival which had been facing logistical issues. Yet, despite lower than average attendance, Techfest 2015 was still a success.
The night began with a performance by Cleo, who played live remixes of current hit songs such as “Hotline Bling” by Drake and “679” by Fetty Wap. Throughout the performance, students could be seen dancing and having a good time. Mosh pits were formed on some occasions, and there were even a few students who successfully crowd surfed across the audience. Although students seemed to be enjoying Cleo’s performance, it was only about an hour into the night when people started chanting for the show’s main guest, Chiddy Bang.
Immediately after coming onstage, Chiddy Bang shared a few words to excite the crowd. “I’m from right here in Jersey,” said the artist, who began his career in nearby Philadelphia. “This place, this is where I came up.” Every mention of New Jersey or Hoboken was met with cheers from the crowd. Chiddy Bang then proceeded to sing some of his most famous songs, such as the hit single “Opposite of Adults.” Once again, students could be seen letting loose and enjoying themselves to the music.
While Techfest 2015 was an enjoyable experience for those involved, the event did have lower attendance than last year’s Techfest, which had about 1,200 attendees as opposed to this year’s 600. “In my opinion, the problem in the way the event was done is that we found an artist to fill the event rather than plan an event to accompany an artist,” said Kevin Quigley, a member of the Entertainment Committee. “Because of that, we had simply a concert rather than a festival.” When asked if there was anything that went particularly well at this year’s Techfest, Quigley said, “A lot of people still did attend despite the delay, and the staff did a good job of facilitating things.”
Although there are many possible reasons as to why this year’s Techfest was not as popular as past Techfests, it should be noted that the event served the same purpose it always has: to provide students with a fun night of letting loose. The only real hitch in the event was that Chiddy Bang kept mistakenly referring to Stevens as “RIT.”
