A Boogie Wit da Hoodie headlined Music Fest 2025.
The David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex at Hofstra University was transformed into a concert arena on Saturday, April 12, for the highly anticipated Hofstra Concerts Music Fest 2025. With 3,000 attendees packing the venue, the annual spring event, organized by student-run group Hofstra Concerts and funded by the Student Government Association (SGA), made history with its first-ever sold-out show.
The event was emceed by Sara Bowles, a senior music business major and Vice President of Hofstra Concerts, alongside Em DeChristine, a senior writing for the screen major. The night showcased a blend of student talent, emerging artists and the main-event presence of A Boogie Wit da Hoodie. From emotional ballads to high-energy anthems, the arena pulsed with music, lights and pure school spirit.
The evening opened with Lydia Von Hof, an artist signed to Unispan Records, the university’s student-run label. Taking the stage with a smooth, sultry performance, Von Hof delivered a memorable set featuring originals like “Verona” and, her personal favorite, “Fable.” Her most powerful moment came during “She,” a yet-to-be-released track that resonated deeply with the crowd.
“People clapping along to ‘She’ was really, really fun,” Von Hof said in a post-show interview. “I rarely play that one in front of an audience, so it just felt great that people kind of felt that one in motion. That was wonderful.”
Von Hof’s inspiration traces back to her late grandmother, who gifted her a piano, which she shipped to New York from Ohio and paid for her music lessons.
“I just felt over the moon, because it has been a long time since I’ve played an arena show, and I just feel so lucky. They’re my favorite,” Von Hof said. “I’ve only done, like, two in my life before this one, so I just felt really, really, really excited – especially when I knew that A Boogie was [headlining]; like that was just unreal.”
Next up on the stage were the winners of Hofstra’s “Battle for Music Fest,” Dylan Taganas and The Suitepaler. The band delivered a burst of adrenaline to the night with a set that was nothing short of theatrical – complete with a massive gong, a double neck guitar, audience call-and-responses and even a little blood.
“That was something that we did during Battle for Music Fest, and we wanted to bring it back out just to have … two memorable moments with the gong and cutting my finger. But it’s fine,” said Taganas, a senior music business major. “Like I said before, it’s rock and roll. Things happen. Blood, sweat and tears. Literally.”
“It was like the best [and] the biggest show I’ve ever played,” said drummer and junior music theory composition major Devan Saez. “Just so much infectious energy.”
Sophomore audio/radio production and studies Mat Gomez said walking on stage felt surreal. “It’s just a crazy feeling, you know? [It] makes you wonder, how the heck did I get this far?”
Taganas’ favorite moment? “When I did the audience participation, and the crowd was singing back to me whatever I was singing; that was so cool. That was, like, probably the one of the best things that ever happened in a live performance.”
The vibe shifted into silky, soulful R&B as Safa took the stage for her 40-minute set, debuting music from her upcoming album “Know Me Like You,” which was set to release on Friday, April 18, five days after Music Fest. Her new single by the same name captivated the crowd, and her raw lyricism struck a chord with students.
“The most ‘me’ lyric I’ve ever written?” Safa repeated, before quoting herself from her song “911.” “‘This ***** done broke his own heart and put the blame on me,’” she said while laughing. “Like, what the f**k is we doing?” The honesty behind her words reflected her duality as an artist – both vulnerable and unfiltered.
Originally studying pre-med at New York University, Safa found her calling in music after transferring into the Clive Davis Institute.
“Being in the city made me realize I needed to live life to the fullest and do what I was brought here to do,” she said.
Her defining moment came when the crowd lit up the arena with their phone lights during a slower number.
“I was sitting on that stool singing, ‘Why Did You Hurt Me So Bad?’ and I was gonna ask people to put their lights out, but they just did it,” Safa said. “And I was trying not to cry, honestly, because it was just really beautiful.”
Then came the moment the crowd had been waiting for: A Boogie Wit da Hoodie walked out to thunderous cheers in a black puffer jacket and a sparkling hoodie. His nearly hour-long set included fan favorites like “My Sh*t” and “Look Back at It,” and he took time to honor the late PnB Rock with a moving performance of “Needed That,” as students raised their phone lights as tribute to all the people that they lost.
During “Still Think About You,” A Boogie Wit da Hoodie stepped down to the barrier, deeply connecting with the audience. He closed the night with “Drowning,” sending fans screaming in a finale to remember long after the lights came up.
What most did not see was the months of planning behind the scenes from the Hofstra Concerts’ executive board and SGA. Bowles gave a look into the behind-the-scenes efforts.
“It’s 90% emails, 10% physical design,” Bowles said. “It really comes down to the little things. Like, of course, we have to secure a headliner, but then we have to make sure if he needs a certain amount of waters, we have that; if we need to make certain posters for him, we have that. You know, staying up late to paint banners and emailing back and forth about what time our vendors are coming.”
Choosing A Boogie Wit da Hoodie as the headliner was a deeply intentional decision.
“When it came the time to really decide on A Boogie, all we could think about was our fond memories of, you know, when he first started,” Bowles said. “We loved the connection of him being from New York and being able to be connected to the student body, and it just all really fell into place.”
According to Bowles, the Music Fest team learns from every year’s experience to improve the event in future years. “You should see our Google Drive. It is filled and filled with notes and spreadsheets, and it’s really referring back to everything we’ve done the year before. Like we don’t start from scratch. Every year we look at what went on last year.”
SGA President Lincoln Anniballi, a senior double majoring in political science and history, emphasized the organization’s integral role.
“So, compared to other organizations and other events on campus, SGA is really involved in the funding for Music Fest because we want to make sure that it’s a fun event, fun experience, but also that we are using our money wisely, and we’re going to get an artist that students are going to want to come to,” Anniballi said. “Having the show be sold out – I think we did a good job with that this year.
With over 3,000 students in attendance, security was also a top priority.
“Public Safety has been incredibly engaged in the process,” Anniballi said. “They have their full team here, with public safety officers, student officers and everything in between. Safety is a priority.”
As a senior, the night was especially meaningful for Anniballi. “[Since] this is my last Music Fest, I get to have some fun with friends and really get to close out the senior year in a fun and exciting way with a whole bunch of other Hofstra students.”
From student performers making their arena debut to a nationally recognized artists bringing in a record-breaking crowd, Music Fest 2025 was more than just a concert – it was a milestone. For the artists, it was a career-defining moment. For the planners, it was a culmination of months of tireless dedication. And for the Hofstra community, it was a night to remember.
As Bowles summed it up, “This is what we say when we get our internships. This is what we say when we get our first jobs: the experience behind the show. It’s really been career-changing for a lot of us and, so, the fact that a group of students are able to put on a show like this, it is absolutely life changing.”
With this year’s sold-out show setting a new standard, one thing is clear: Hofstra’s Music Fest isn’t just growing, it’s thriving.
