Spring has come again, welcoming the summer with mild temperatures and a fresh abundance of wildlife that really anyone can enjoy, minus the pollen of course. This year, Hollybash returns, bigger and better than ever, with fun games, rides, food, and music from all kinds of artists. Despite the cloudy weather, which briefly erupted in a small wave of rain, over two hundred or so students came out to the event to join the end-of-the-year festivities. If you remember Field Day from elementary school, Hollybash is not the event to miss. Especially if you’re a diehard music fan. 

This year, Hollybash pulled out all the stops for the music, where they allowed an abundance of learning artists from campus to perform for a wider audience. The first of these artists was Megan Arnold, who did an amazing job with her performance. 

After Arnold’s performance, she was asked how it felt to be singing for such an audience, and she said, “I think it’s great that Rowan allows students to do something like this and I think it helps with…helping students feel like they have a voice in their community.”

Another notable artist who came onto the stage was Rowan’s very own Spider-Man, who performed a terrific drum solo for the audience. Before, his appearances were mostly over Instagram, and special events that allowed the cosplaying web-slinger to shine. 

When asked about the opportunity to perform the drums during Hollybash, he explained, “This isn’t something I’ve usually done before. Even with my Spider-Man costume, I’m not a big performer in front of people. But I think it went well for what it was, having to set up my drumset…all in all I think it went pretty well.”

The crowd most certainly agreed with his sentiment when they gave him a standing ovation at the end of his performance. 

After an hour of more solo artists, a contestant of the Battle of the Bands, LVNA, stepped onto the stage and performed a few songs for a gathering crowd. With their punk rock aesthetic and deeply personal songs, they were able to woo the crowd and put on an unforgettable performance, as per their reputation. Though much of the credit also goes to the band’s songwriter and mastermind, Liz Rohr, who was able to brilliantly collaborate with her band members to create their signature music. 

“A lot of it is about insecurity…and other people being awful. And that’s a really big influence in a lot of songs, and especially our more angsty ones,” said Maddie Reddy, lead singer of the band.

On April 29th, the band will give their final performance of the year at the Rowan Nault Show. 

Finally, as the night began to draw to a close, Spud Mack followed LVNA’s stellar performance an hour afterward. Previously, the band had been doing smaller shows across Rowan, one such show taking place in earlier Hollybash concerts on the smaller stage. With the band being challenged with their biggest show yet, this is what they had to comment on before the show. “We’re excited for the opportunity to play on the big stage…it’s our biggest show yet, and we’re excited.” 

The crowd enjoyed the band’s performance, giving them a loud cheer when they left the stage in glory. Later that night, the event was wrapped up when celebrity singer, Tori Kelly came on stage to perform for the event. Since this year’s Hollybash has wrapped up, we can only hope that next year will be just as exciting. 

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