University of California Riverside’s annual Heat Music Festival took place on March 3, with more than 12,000 attendees flocking to the campus to see artists such as Airborne Toxic Event and Kamin.UCR gave out 10,000 free tickets to the event, but due to high demand an extra 300 were distributed.
The event boasted three stages, the Highlander, Vantage and Southland. The stages were scattered throughout the main courtyard of the campus, hosting eight artists throughout the night.
Surrounding the Bell Tower were multiple vendors, most of which sold food. The campus also had their beer garden open for a limited amount of time.
While some students came for the general excitement of the night others came to see a particular artist.
Ana Himenez, guest of UCR student Richard Moreno, came to see rapper Mac Miller.
“There is a really good vibe here tonight,” Himenez said.
YouTube sensation Karmin also performed, debuting their entire album, “Hello,” which will release in April.
The duo, Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan, were excited to share with the crowd about their recent performance on Saturday Night Live, as well as their engagement.
The Vantage stage hosted multiple disc jockeys throughout the night, and its courtyard location across from the campus Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf allowed for it to turn into an on-campus dance floor.
The final band to perform on the Highlander stage was Airborne Toxic Event. Before the Los Angeles-based rock band took the stage the crowd expectantly chanted their name.
“Everyone seemed like they were happy and probably inebriated, and it made for an energetic, fun time,” guitarist Steven Chen said.
Bassist Noah Harmon was excited to see that the crowd consisted of actual fans.
“It was really nice to see hardcore fans. During festival sort of atmospheres you never know what kind of crowd you’re going to get. Real, honest-to-God hardcore fans is pretty sweet,” Harmon said.
“We play a lot of festivals but I didn’t know universities had festivals like this. It’s crazy, it’s like Lalapalooza here,” Chen said.
Other artists that performed were: Major Lazer, Chiddy Bang, Iration, Fei-Fei and Secret Panda Society.
