Wolfstock expands reach, invites familiar artists to campus

Matthew Burkhart Staff Writer

Nearing the end of the semester, University Activities Board is preparing to host Wolfstock, their annual, festivalstyle, end-of-year event and concert on campus. With a scavenger hunt, the board revealed Ross Lynch’s band, The Driver Era, as the headliner act, joined by Triangle-based band Weston Estate as the opening act.

Wolfstock will take place Saturday, April 22, and is a two-part event: a daytime festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in different locations on main campus and a concert in Stafford Commons at 8 p.m.

Colby McSwain, a third-year studying mechanical engineering and the board’s entertainment committee chair, said Wolfstock is the board’s biggest event of the year, attracting more than 6,000 attendees last year.

Tara Spencer, a third-year studying psychology and the board’s spirit committee chair, said they are hoping to boost attendance through the expansion of the daytime festival, where carnival games, giveaways and other activities will be held. Previously, the festival was held at Miller Fields, but will now take place at six locations on main campus.

In addition to the main concert, 10 NC State-based bands will perform in the Brickyard from 1:30-6:15 p.m. in the Wolfstock Student Showcase.

Morgan Carden, a second-year studying chemical engineering, is on the board’s entertainment committee and had a role in organizing the artist reveal in Stafford Commons.

The reveal had students following cryptic hints from the board’s social media accounts and looking for clues throughout the area. Carden said this was the first time they took an interactive approach for revealing the main artists.

“We wanted to definitely have something more interactive with students with a scavenger hunt, just to make it more fun than just looking at and seeing what it says right off the bat,” Carden said.

McSwain said a form was used to find which artists students were most interested in, and The Driver’s Era was chosen for its popularity and nostalgia from Ross Lynch’s role in Disney Channel’s “Austin & Ally.”

Weston Estate, the opening act, has two members who are NC State students, Srikar Nanduri and Abhishek Manhass. McSwain said since they are both fourthyears, the board is envisioning their performance as being a sendoff from the University following their booming success, as the band now boasts over one million monthly listeners on Spotify.

“They’re actually graduating this year, so we wanted to try to get them kind of like a cool graduation recognition from us to them,” McSwain said. “There’s starting to be a huge following for them.”

Carden said Wolfstock has become so loved due to its proximity to the last day of class.

“I would say it’s also one of the largest just because so many students come out and so many students look forward to it,” Carden said. “It’s kind of like the last hurrah of the year before finals.”