Screaming crowds, a pulsing beat and music bouncing throughout the ASUI-Kibbie Activity Center, increasing the already loud sound of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
In 2013, the music duo made the trip to Moscow, filling the space with a crowd of 4,500 University of Idaho students.
Yodi Mac | 2018
Years later, it stands as the most memorable Finals Fest performance yet for some.
Despite the two gaining fame beforehand, many artists shot to stardom shortly after their performances in Moscow, according to UI records. Past performers include Taylor Swift, Macklemore, Mike Posner, The Roots and more.
Originally taking place in February or March, UI’s annual spring concert started to get pushed further into the semester, Shawn O’Neal said. Soon, it was coined Finals Fest, since it took place in May.
“We wanted to provide something for students to help them blow off some steam at their most stress,” said O’Neal, director of the Department of Student Involvement. “That’s kind of how Finals Fest was born.”
It then became more of a celebratory moment for students, said Hagen Hunsaker, Vandal Entertainment concert chair.
“I think it probably started because students really want to kick off the end of the year with something big and flashy and kind of celebrate the year they had,” Hunsaker said.
O’Neal said he remembers students “going bananas” when Taylor Swift came to campus for the spring concert — the name of the event at the time.
While Taylor Swift was a memorable artist, Macklemore was well-loved among many students, O’Neal said.
Chance the Rapper | 2015
“At the time, he was really peaking,” O’Neal said. “That was the biggest concert I’ve seen here at the University of Idaho.”
Saraya Flaig said she wishes she could have attended Macklemore’s concert.
“I think they got Macklemore at such a good time. It just worked out to where when he performed here, there were so many popular songs that he already had out,” said Flaig, Vandal Entertainment late night programming chair. “That would have been really cool to experience.”
Although Macklemore won’t be back for Finals Fest 2019, Vandal Entertainment is bringing in four different artists. AJR will headline with other artists SoDown, Kelsey Waters and Les Morose also performing.
“There has been a lot of excitement over AJR, so I’m excited to see how students react,” O’Neal said. “I hope it’s a good show — any show is a good show.”
Taylor Swift | 2007
Hunsaker said he picked AJR after narrowing down the list of performer possibilities from 25 acts to the one headliner.
Along with creating a great sounding show, price and availability also play a role in who is chosen, he said.
“You can sound good on the radio and awful live, and we lost some acts that we thought would do really great or we didn’t think would do great live,” Hunsaker said. “Or that there wasn’t that theatrical show that we wanted.”
This year, Vandal Entertainment spent a total of $100,000 on the festival. This fee includes paying for the artists, venue, food and more. But the amount of money spent for the event didn’t change from past years, despite adding more artists.
Believing the legacy of Finals Fest changes every year, Hunsaker said he wanted a variety and wider representation of genres for students, creating more of a festival-type event.
“(What) I really wanted to instill this year is to give each Finals Fest its own identity. Every year, there will be a new logo or sticker, so it’s iconic or vintage to that year,” Hunsaker said.
6Lack | 2019
Attempting to make each new show the best yet, Vandal Entertainment’s goal is to give students a memorable experience.
“I want Finals Fest to be more than just the acts. I want it to be the experience they have out there, cause the acts could be the greatest thing ever, but (so is) hanging out with friends. For some it’s their last Finals Fest,” Hunsaker said. “They literally graduate in the same place seven days later.”
Doors will open at 6 p.m. May 4. The show will begin 6:30 p.m. The event is free for UI students with a Vandal Card and $25 for general admission.
Lindsay Trombly can be reached at [email protected]