The beat of a song so loud you can feel it pulsing in your chest, the flashing of lights, a drone above capturing the magnitude of the crowd below and Stormtroopers taking the stage — ChirpFest had begun.
Due to a rain delay, the EDM music festival started one hour later than expected. The festival took place on Dill Street, right outside of Brother’s Bar and Grill.
Although the crowd was slow to arrive due to the rainy weather, the street was packed with students and spectators watching from the balconies of the above apartment complex as 10 p.m. rolled around.
“We still went even with the weather because we wanted to support ChirpFest, and we won tickets so we felt like we should still go,” said freshman journalism major Andrew Smith.
Although the music stole the attention, the underlying purpose of ChirpFest was ever prominent: uniting the Ball State and Muncie communities.
“It was fun to see a bunch of people from the Muncie community come out to the show,” Smith said. “It was fun to see the Muncie and Ball State community connected, especially as a freshman.”
As the night inched closer to midnight, Dill Street was illuminated with glow sticks and the sporadic flashing lights of the set. The various performers kept the crowd going with covers and remixes of current popular songs, like “Roses” by the Chainsmokers.
The crowd grew by hundreds as the evening progressed, and cardboard cutouts of Nicki Minaj, Betty White and Lady Gaga bounced around the audience.
“I really like the fact that I could go for their second year because I can say that I went for one of the first ones,” Smith said. “It will be cool to see how it grows over the years and see how many more people come, and the music played — what different DJs they bring in.”
The show ended at 1 a.m. with no major issues.
“The cops were really good about getting people across the street after the show,” Smith said. “They really wanted to make sure people got to ChirpFest safe and left safe.”
Students can experience ChirpFest again in the spring of 2017, this time in an arena. The date is still to be announced.
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