Hurricane Matthew’s rampage threatened to cancel the 2016 Fall Festival that took place Saturday, Oct. 8. Even though Matthew’s course moved away from Long Island, Hofstra was still hit with continuous rain, but that did not stop students and family from enjoying the festivities.
The intramural fields were turned into a concert and carnival area equipped with games, rides, food and a concert stage. People flooded the fields to take part in the activities, bringing their umbrellas and hats to try and stay dry.
The carnival featured a small train ride – perfect for small children – that took passengers on a short ride behind the rock wall and slide at the back of the fields.
This year’s carnival also kept some of the classic rides, like the swings, and brought some new ones, such as the boat ride.
Hofstra’s 2016 Fall Festival concert featured a Prince tribute band, The Purple Xperience, and rock band Gin Blossoms as the opening acts to headliners Fetty Wap and Monty.
The Purple Xperience started off the afternoon. The band has been performing since 2011 and is led by Dr. Fink, former member of Prince and the Revolution. Ace Mack, bass player for The Purple Xperience, expressed his joy at being able to continue Prince’s legacy after his death earlier this year.
“We make sure we entertain and connect with the audience. We give them the full experience of being at a Prince concert,” Mack said.
Although it was raining throughout the performance, the rain made for the perfect setting when the band played Prince’s famous “Purple Rain.”
Gin Blossoms expressed their gratitude at being able to play, joking, “Thanks for allowing your parent’s favorite band to perform,” which warranted some laughs from the crowd.
As Gin Blossoms’ set came to an end, the number of students in the crowd began to increase as they found spots to wait for Fetty Wap to perform.
The stage was wiped down and speakers were moved for Hofstra’s own TranscenDance to perform. The crowd sang along and screamed for their peers throughout the dance routine.
After TranscenDance’s set, DJ Spynfo played a number of throwback songs including “It’s Goin’ Down” by Young Joc. As the crowd got hyped the music changed from today’s hits to their Jersey club beat remixes. The change in style signified that Fetty Wap was going to be making his way to the stage soon.
DJ Spynfo ended his set, and the stage was prepared for Fetty Wap, Monty and the rest of the RGF crew. The screen behind the DJ’s set-up flashed between the RGF logo and Fetty Wap’s name as students waited anxiously for him to make his way to the stage.
Fetty Wap came out to a screaming crowd and smoke while wearing a Hofstra basketball jersey. He immediately went into his song “RGF Island,” and everybody was rapping along with him.
Fetty Wap performed two songs before bringing out his best friend Monty to perform two of his own songs. The hype man, Fuzzy, danced to every song, making his way from one side of the stage to the other, interacting with the crowd and getting people to dance along.
Fetty Wap performed all of his hits, including “679,” “Wake Up,” “Jimmy Choo,” “Trap Queen” and many more.
As he performed each song, a screen was set up behind him to play the corresponding music video. If there was no video to go along with the song the screen displayed speakers that pulsed to the beat.
Austin White, a criminal justice major from Bowling Green State University, attended the show as a guest with his girlfriend.
“[Fetty] played two new songs for us, and they were good. The hype with the rain made it even better,” White said.
The show ended with the song that made Fetty Wap an overnight success, “Trap Queen.” At the end of Fetty’s set, the crowd chanted his name over the fireworks taking place behind them. He came back to the stage for a final goodbye and a thank you to Hofstra.