Julia Garrison
News Editor
Wooster Activities Crew (WAC) has announced the lineup for their largest event of the year: Springfest. Springfest, which occurs every spring semester following I.S. Monday, brings musical artists across genres to campus –– handpicked by WAC –– with the support of other student organizations.
This year, the event’s headliner is Dua Saleh, an artist known for their genre-bending style. Their three EPs, released from 2018 to 2021, all scored in the six and seven range in the popular music magazine, Pitchfork. Their first and most recent LP –– “I SHOULD CALL THEM” –– garnered a 7.4 rating on the platform. Eric Torres of Pitchfork described Saleh as a “genre-agnostic shape-shifter.”
Birksie, who will be opening for Saleh, is an Australian singer/songwriter who combines the sounds of indie rock and alternative music. Birksie’s most recent release is his 2024 LP, “Bloom.” The album contains a few of his more popular songs, including “American Horror Story” and “Tug of War.”
“We generally have been making an effort to try to poll more campus organizations to better understand the types of artists that people might be interested in,” said Jack Freer ’26, music director for WAC’s Springfest and operations regarding Bonnawoo, which picks student bands to open Springfest. Freer said that he felt the collaboration aspect of finding and selecting an artist has helped the organization locate artists who might “fly under the radar.”
Freer noted that his successor, Kaitlyn Shane ’27, was also involved in the artist selection process. Shane was in charge of securing the opener –– Birksie.
“[Dua Saleh] has a really long legacy of protest music in particular –– which is an aspect of their work that I really admired … they’ve always been outspoken about social issues that are important to them,” Freer said. “I think in a time that can feel kind of scary and vulnerable, it’s actually somewhat grounding in my mind to have someone that’s not afraid to speak their mind and stand on what they’re saying.”
Freer described managing and being in charge of Springfest as a “labor of love” for the community, and that WAC offers students a unique opportunity to learn more about themselves as leaders.
“I was really struck by the opportunity to put on some official programming on the basis of the school,” Freer noted, adding that Springfest and other WAC events have always served as places for students to meet new people or spend time with current friends.
A student band will also perform before Birksie, which was selected during Bonnawoo –– a “battle of the bands” style event that happened in The Underground last weekend. Attendees of Bonnawoo also got advance notice of the headliner, which was officially announced a few days later. WOO-91, the College’s student-run radio station, will provide a DJ set before the live music.
“It always makes me so unbelievably happy to see all of the groups that come for Party on the Green and Springfest,” Freer said. “Even if they stay for just a little bit, it really just lightens my day to see people outside enjoying themselves.”
Springfest kicks off on April 26 at 6 p.m. in the residential quad between Ebert and student dorms. Students interested in more information about the event can check WAC’s Instagram, @wacwooster.
