Seattle University’s annual music festival will celebrate its 29th anniversary on May 19 featuring Smallpools headlining the stage in Connolly Center and Taylar Elizza Beth headlining the stage on the Quad.
Big headliners such as Bibi Bourelly, Macklemore and Saint Motel have previously headlined the stage hosted by Student Events & Activities Council (SEAC), and Smallpools is no small act. “Dreaming,” one of their most popular songs, has over 40 million listens on Spotify. Smallpools will be accompanied on the SEAC stage by Great Good Fine Ok, Half the Animal and Battle of the Bands Champion Griffin Leemon.
The stage on the Quad hosted by KXSU will feature a setlist of Pacific Northwest artists. Taylar Elizza Beth will be accompanied by COSMOS, Flip Phone, Maiah Wynne, and Battle of the Bands Runner up Kohst. KXSU Promotions Director Jason McCue said he tried to curate a compilation of local artists with genre diversity in mind.
“I think supporting local music in general is such an important part of arts community in seattle so I put a heavy emphasis on making sure we have a lot of Seattle based and Pacific Northwest bands,” McCue said.
The kickoff to Quadstock will be at 12 p.m. in the Quad where the KXSU stage will be set up. Performances in the Quad will continue until 5 p.m. then the festivities will be moved to the Connolly Center.
First year Seattle U student Karsten Kohout, also known by his DJ name Kohst, will be the first performer of the day. Kohout said that he wants his performance to be lighthearted and unscripted. Kohout has performed at other sports and community events, but this will likely be his biggest Seattle U crowd yet.
Kohout said that he has grown as an artist due to not only chances to perform live, but also because of the reception that the Seattle U fosters. Seattle U prides itself on celebrating the individual which Karston has found to be particularly encouraging in his journey as an artist.
“It’s not the same as high school, people weren’t as receptive then, but the atmosphere [here] encourages people like me to keep going and grow,” Kohout said.
Months of planning are invested into Quadstock each year.
Leemon, who is performing on the stage in the Connolly Center, said that he has been rewriting his songs and lyrics to fit the story he wants to tell. He said that his songs are shaped by his identity of being from a small community in Wyoming and that he wants his performance to reflect that.
“I’m going to be offering an intimate experience, it’s going to be just me standing up on stage,” Leemon said.
This year, folks can expect to an assortment of genres at Quadstock, and hopefully a Saturday just as sunny as the last. There will also be food trucks and community vendors present at the event.
Kohout said that he was excited to perform and has some expectations for his crowd.
“The worst thing that can happen at a performance is no one dancing to your music,” Kohout said.
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