This past weekend, over twenty different bands performed at 97X’s Next Big Thing (NBT), a two day music festival at the Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheater. Many students from Robinson attended, and were very impressed.

On the first day of the concert, The Aces, The Arkells, Magic Giant, X Ambassadors, and The Lumineers took the stage. The bands started playing at 5 p.m. and went until 10 p.m., much shorter than the second day, which went from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Just a few of the bands that performed on Sunday were Joywave, Saint Motel, Portugal the Man, and Paramore.

Kaitlyn Faulkner (’20) was one of the Robinson students that attended the festival last weekend. “It was really fun,” she said. “I’m glad I got to listen to a lot of new bands and music.”

Faulkner said that she was able to see her favorite band, Saint Motel, who performed on Sunday. “I already knew a lot of their songs,” she said. According to Faulkner, one of the best parts of the performance was when the lead singer got off stage and ran into the crowd. Despite having lawn seats, which were further back from the stage, Faulkner and her friends were able to take pictures with the lead singer.

Saint Motel was not the only band to interact with the crowd. Andrew McMahon, who performed on Sunday, got off the stage and fans got the chance to take pictures with him. McMahon also got into an inflatable duck raft and the crowd carried him above their heads.

Annabelle Allison (’19) also attended NBT. She went to both days of the concert and sat right next to the sound stage.

Allison said one of her favorite parts of the festival was meeting Joywave and Walk the Moon. “I really loved how many opportunities there were to upgrade tickets and get meet and greets,” she said. “I would never have been able to meet them without it.”

Many Robinson students enjoyed the festival so much that they wished it wasn’t only two days long. “It was the best night of my life,”  Allison said.