SonFest, a "launching point"

SonFest attendance held steady for the second year in a row, bringing in around 2,250. Among those in attendance were 500 MVNU students.

Junior Walter Blanks attended for the first time.

“SonFest was amazing,” Blanks said. “It was such a great experience and environment around campus. I’m already excited for the next one!”

As always, many alumni attended again this year, including 2015 graduate Denae Lawrence.

“I came back because I’ve been going to SonFest since before I was a student,” said Lawrence. “In fact, it was SonFest that made me want to apply to MVNU.”

Rachel Kuhn, assistant director of admissions, was happy with the event’s outcome.

“That is a great launching point for future years,” she said. “I love that over 500 of the SonFest [participants] were MVNU students.”

Kuhn welcomes student opinions and participation for future SonFest events.

“We are so thankful for the 100 students that gave of their time and energy to help make SonFest a success [this year]. We want you to be a part and to give us feedback and suggestions.”

The line up on the main stage included Finding Favour, Veridia, Citizen Way, Rapture Ruckus, For All Seasons and Building 429.

The second stage held performances by DJ Jimmy Rock, Ever Burning Bright, Trouper, Lasting Hope, Graceful Closure and DaMac.

“Each group brought something a little different to the table,” said Kuhn. “I would say that each group was received really well. The bands felt that the day went great.”

The lineup was chosen based on student evaluations sent out at the beginning of the year. Kuhn and her team then negotiated contracts with the charting bands and advertised to local ones.

“Afterwards we get a group together to listen to their music,” she said. “We also check to see how many followers they have on social media and look at what type of crowd they attract.

“We also include the input of RadioU and WNZR,” Kuhn said.

Next year will mark the event’s 20th anniversary, and Kuhn is looking forward to the opportunities it will bring.

“We are already working on some exciting things for next year,” Kuhn said. “We would like to bring on some more sponsors and bring in a couple more food trucks. It is going to be fun. We are in a really good place.”