Finals Fest to include Chicago house band, Minneapolis DJs, Florida singer

Before finals take over the minds of the students, UWRF will be putting on its Finals Fest on Friday, May 6, bringing several music acts to campus along with an assurance that the event will not be stopped by bad weather.

The performers this semester include house music band Autograf, DJs Dudley D and Quammunist of GenerationNOW, and singer Justin Buzzi.

The music acts in particular have been chosen through the feedback of students at the university who wanted to see more diverse acts brought in, said Director of Student Involvement Paul Shepherd, who added that he hopes the acts this year will satisfy the students.

“We try to get as much feedback as we can from students,” he said. “We try to get feedback on genre. The problem with asking for specific artists is that it depends on who’s travelling in our general area to work within budget.”

He said that the university tries not to look for national acts or those that tour constantly due to the latter reasons, working with agencies to see who can come to the area and matching them with what the university wants the most.

Chicago-based Autograf is noted for their electronic dance music and live instrumentation, GenerationNOW are the official DJs for the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team, and Buzzi was contacted for a special performance.

Shepherd said that Buzzi was invited because he wrote a song called “Falcon Nation Anthem” to be played for Finals Fest. Buzzi, reached by telephone in his home state of Florida, said the university came across the song and asked him to perform for the students at UWRF.

Buzzi will be coming for his first time to Wisconsin to perform a remixed version of the song, bringing his cameraman to shoot footage around the campus and festival.

“I’ve just been trying to travel as much as I can recently, and that’s one of the big reasons I wanted to come up there and do this,” he said. “It’s a place I’ve never been before. It’s a new experience, and meeting new people.”

Buzzi said that he released a new album earlier this month and will be bringing about 500 copies to the show.

Though these artists were voted upon according to most wanted genre and who’s available, Shepherd said he understands that not everyone is satisfied when it comes to the acts booked in years past, but added that he believes that it’s the spirit of coming out and having the experience of live music with friends and fellow students that counts.

Finals Fest is also being marketed mainly to the students at the university. Even though UWRF advertises the event in River Falls, Shepherd said the university expect there to be more students than community members in attendance.

Those afraid that this year’s concert might be rained upon or too cold can rejoice as Finals Fest will be held indoors in the Falcon’s Nest of the University Center. Shepherd said that it is easier to set up the lights for the show and will be safer if the weather is bad.

Prior to Finals Fest a pre-party is scheduled at 6 p.m. at the University Center. Doors for the concert open at 7:30 p.m.