UT hosts Volapalooza, relocates to Student Union Courtyard

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University of Tennessee, Knoxville students and staff celebrated the end of classes with the annual Volapalooza music festival on April 26. Going on 17 years, Volapalooza is a way for students to de-stress before finals.

This event took place in the new Student Union Courtyard, which is now the official home to Volapalooza. In recent years, Volapalooza has been located at the World’s Fair Park or Thompson Boling Arena in case of bad weather. However, this year’s weather was all sunshine and blue skies, allowing for students to relax outside and enjoy the event.

The lineup featured a unique mix of artists, including: Grammy Award winning artist Andy Grammer, alternative rock artist Bishop Briggs and Knoxville native hip-hop artist Daisha McBride.

The mix of artists and genres accommodated students of all kinds to come out and have fun.

Many students expressed their excitement about Andy Grammer as a flashback to their days in middle school.

“Andy Grammar has got my 11-year-old heart,” UT student Sumner Brewington said.

Maya Rao, a UT sophomore, also spoke about her excitement for the Grammer throwback:

“I remember him from my middle schools days, and those [Grammer’s music] were the bops,” Rao said. “I feel like I really grew up with him.”

Grammer’s most popular songs “Keep Your Head Up” came out in 2011 and “Honey, I’m Good.” came out in 2014.

Unlike past years, in which the festival hosted food trucks for snacks and drinks, this year had a lot of sponsored booths providing the food instead. Some of the food booths include: Coca Cola, Cheerwine and Jimmy Johns.

Furthermore, other activities at Volapalooza included: Palm reading, a silent disco, henna tattoos, an Aveda Salon hair braiding station, an art show and boutique booths.

Anna Clements, a UT student, spoke about how nice it was to have so many activities:

“It was cool to have all these different activities in one place. To one side was a silent disco, then someone doing palm reading, and then a concert. I think it [the activities] helped make the event more appealing to everyone,” Clements said.

In addition, it was clear that Volapalooza’s new location helped with student attendance via accessibility. The new central location of Volapalooza at the Student Union Courtyard allowed for more on campus students to attend.

Caroline Duggan, the concert marketing chair for Volapalooza said, “… we like it [the location], we have more control … and it is in the heart of campus which makes it much more accessible to students.”

More information on Volapalooza is located on their Facebook and Twitter.

Edited by Grace Goodacre and Ciera Noe

Featured image and photo gallery by Eleanor Tant