Oktoberfest is a Longwood University tradition that encompasses many different aspects to create a fun and enjoyable environment. This festival is started with Color Wars where the classes compete against one another in a glorious battle of green and red paint. However, this all pales in comparison to the Saturday night event where many bands come and perform for the students, faculty and family of Longwood.
These bands are kick started by a Battle of the Bands style event on Friday, but Saturday is when the real party begins. Many famous artists, such as Taylor Swift, have performed at Oktoberfest and other lesser known groups have also shown their skills in front of Longwood. Oktoberfest 2014 was home to groups such as The Ready Set, Gloriana, Con Bro Chill and a few more.
The event was started with small time student performers who presented an array of songs, including covers and their own originals. While no student truly stood out among the others, they all were good in their own fashion and were able to provide a modicum of entertainment. Vinyl Headlights started the main performance and this particular group did not start a good vibe for the rest of the day. While they were creative and had a decent group, their overall performance and expertise was left to be desired though. They did not have a decent vocalist and the beat was off for many of the members as several missed chords and drum beats did not keep in sync.
Nevertheless, this group was not terrible and deserved a decent round of applause. The real stars of the night, and the ones that surprised everyone, was Con Bro Chill. While this group was not as well-known as the others such as The Ready Set and Gloriana, their stage presence was a delight to see. Costumes that showed they were proud to be who they were and music that was unique, this group was the true highlight of Oktoberfest. Dancing about in flamboyant yellow, green and orange clothes, they not only preformed almost perfectly, but they brought energy to Longwood that not many of the other groups could match.
From this point on, however, the night took an increasingly disappointing turn as each group that came out afterwards could not match the previous energy.
Perhaps it was their notoriety that allowed such a turnout, but overall, The Ready Set and Gloriana just did not make their mark on stage. With the traditional styles of preforming, music that had no unique taste and nothing that stood out, the remaining acts were hard to watch.
For the most part, Longwood students seemed to enjoy themselves with the following acts and that is what counts. In the end, it doesn’t matter if some groups weren’t on par with others. What matters is that they were able to entertain people and bring smiles to faces. Oktoberfest is not about the booths or the food, but rather about the connections and moments of happiness we all share together, as a community.
