The bands that will be playing at Greggfest were officially announced last month at the Greggfest Kickoff event held in the Student Center. The Kickoff, held on Tuesday, March 28th, featured four student performers, including the two bands that would open each night of Greggfest.
The night started off with Symone, whose performance was new to the Lyndon campus, playing a set list completely made up of original songs. Symone was followed up by Duck!, a trio that performed three of their original songs that they had written recently.
The official Greggfest lineup announcement was made by host Keisha Radford. Greggfest is a two-day festival originally started as a Collab Creatively in Music class project, which is a required course for Music Business & Industry students. Greggfest was made to help MBI student Jake Gregg raise money for his cancer treatment; he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2013. The first Greggfest was held in 2014. Unfortunately, Jake Gregg lost his battle with cancer before he could attend the 2015 Greggfest. MEISA has continued to run the festival every year, minus 2020 due to COVID-19, in memory of Jake Gregg and everything he had done for the community.
Greggfest will be held on Friday, May 5th and Saturday, May 6th this year. The first night will be a jam night, and the second night will be themed around hip hop.
Kicking off Jame Night is student band Technical Difficulties. They have performed at many Student Showcases held by MEISA and open stage events. Now, they will be the first band to perform in the 2023 Greggfest. They will be followed by an indie alternative three-piece band by the name of Grape Juice!. This band is based out of Saratoga Springs, New York. Then, The Apollos will be returning to Greggfest! They have been to the Lyndon campus a few times, the most recent being last year’s Greggfest and Oktoberfest in the fall.
The headliner for night one of Greggfest is Leon Trout. This band is a four-piece rock-jam band from Massachusetts. They have performed on stages alongside Wiz Khalifa, Red Man, Method Man, Emancipator, and many more! Leon Trout has performed at many regional music festivals in New England, as well.
As for the second night of Greggfest, the student band Late@Nite will be opening. This band is a student rap collective, and has also performed at Student Showcases and local house parties. The second band for that night is Lyndon alumnus Ryder Jam. The third performer for hip hop night is Kam Prada, who is a hip-hop artist from Canada. The headliner for night two of Greggfest is North Ave Jax, who is based out of Burlington. According to a Facebook post made on April 18th, 2022, he is building a studio in Vermont. He wants all young, aspiring artists from Vermont to feel inspired and not like they are stranded. MEISA is proud to bring him to Greggfest as the headliner for the final night.
Greggfest tickets will cost $8 for one day or $10 for both days. The event is free for any Lyndon students with their school ID. There will also be a cash-only beer garden for those of legal drinking age. Federal IDs will be required to enter the beer garden.
After the announcement was finished, the Greggfest Kickoff was closed out by Late@Night and Technical Difficulties.