Last Sunday, the River Lot was transformed into a music festival ground for the annual Techfest hosted by the Entertainment Committee (EC). Each year, musicians at and outside of Stevens come together to perform for the campus community, and this year, Techfest hosted rock band Neon Trees as the main performance. The event was entirely free to Stevens undergraduate and graduate students and offered a night of fun activities, music, and gift giveaways.
For such an event to occur, a great deal of planning is involved. The Stute talked with Mollie Good, Techfest director and student at Stevens, in order to understand what was involved in preparing for the event.
Back in the Fall 2023 semester, a survey was sent out to the entire student body, allowing students to vote for a number of performers from a list of individuals and groups. From this survey, Good discovered that Neon Trees was a popular choice among those who voted. The process began to see if they could come to the campus for the event. Good reported on the process of making this choice a reality and stated that “there was back and forth with the agent, agreeing on the final contract” until it could become possible. A major part of the process was balancing the desire for a popular prominent performer with the limited budget of the EC.
In addition to this, important decisions were made regarding the venue late in the planning process. Usually, the event is held in Canavan Arena and on Schaefer Lawn. However, because of the success of the Men’s Volleyball Team and with Canavan being the location of the next stage of the NCAA DIII Men’s Volleyball Championships on the same day as Techfest, changes had to be made in order to adapt to the situation. To solve this issue, Good and the rest of the EC worked with University Events and the Production manager to relocate. River Lot became the choice for Techfest’s next location, and after days of setting up for the venue in the prior week, Techfest was able to be kicked off.
To start the night, the Duck Market, or the area outside the main tent, was opened at 5 p.m. for people to stroll around. Activities around the market included a photo area, an on-theme bounce house shaped like a boombox, a raffle area with a variety of baskets, a bracelet-making station, and a few tables with merchandise. Lining the outside was also a food area with ice cream, pretzels, corn dogs, and popcorn for attendees of the event. At the entrance, students were given a wristband with three tickets on them that could be used for food, which allowed for the food lines to move with relative ease and prevented food from running out early. While there were few options, there was certainly plenty of food. Food left at the end of the night could be taken without giving a ticket.
The openers began their performances shortly after the start. Each of the openers was a winner of the Battle of the Bands, which was held a few weeks prior to Techfest. The Vibrotones hit it off at 5:30 p.m. with some swinging music. They are from Manasquan and Brielle, NJ, and describe themselves as a classic rock band in a modern style. The Vibrotones were followed up by Midnight Drive, an alternative rock band from here in Hoboken that formed just this past year. To wrap up the openers, Future Nostalgia, another band from Hoboken, took the stage, playing a mix of their own songs and songs by other well-known artists.
After the openers, Neon Trees began their performance with the crowd hyped up, and the security tightened. A minor technical issue occurred towards the beginning with Tyler Glenn, lead singer, joking about “having a tech issue at a tech school,” but it was sorted out quickly. The show was a visual and aural spectacle, and Tyler Glenn worked the crowd through his lighthearted jokes and engagement. The attendees sang along with crowd favorites “Animals,” “Don’t You Want Me,” and “Everybody Talks.”
Techfest was made possible through the efforts of many, including everyone on the EC, Danielle Maxson and Stephanie Hios from the Office of Undergraduate Student Life, Rick Davis and 368 Management team, Johnny Mauro from University Events, Stevens Catering, and club collaborators including WCPR, Audio Engineering Club, Stevens Underground Music Awareness Committee, Student Government Association, and Stevens mom Denise Alessandri.
