This Friday, Sept. 6, from 3–6 p.m., the 8th annual MASH music festival will take place on three different stages; in Beckham Hall, the 92 Theater and World Music Hall.

“The MASH festival is inspired by Fête de la Musique, also known as World Music Day,” MASH Intern Chloe Malushaga ’21 told The Argus.

“The name MASH is derived from the idea of a mash-up, since the festival features a mix of different styles, genres, and musical expressions,” Malushaga went on to explain. “The MASH festival has been held annually each year since 2012. During one of the first weekends of the new school year, the growing Wes community gathers to celebrate the arrival of new students and the start of the new school year. The festival has traditionally featured student bands, a cappella groups, solo artists, [and] DJs, in addition to alumni bands and faculty bands.”

Malushaga mentioned that she was excited about the fact that the festival this year would overlap with the Student Activities Fair, so that students could check out new clubs to join while listening to student musicians. It is also notable that the festival is featuring 12 new performers this year, including several first years that Malushaga recruited via WesAdmits 2023.

The lineup includes Lopii, “an indie-pop-rock band comprised of some angsty musicians who love telling stories through music,” Sweetburger, “a student band on campus that mixes up a sweet blend of jazz, funk and neo-soul” and a faculty group called the Mattabasset String Collective, “a 5-piece acoustic ensemble playing an eclectic mix of bluegrass, blues, folk, mountain, country and rock, all in a string band style.”

“This is my first time performing at the event and I’m just really excited to showcase the intimate and acoustic side of the Wesleyan music scene and hopefully inspire other Wesleyan musicians that you don’t need a full band to perform your music to others!” Gabriel Ballard ’21, who plays under the stage name g. flores, told The Argus.

“This is our first time performing the MASH and we are excited to kick off the school year playing some tunes and jamming with everyone,” said Katie Lopez ’21 of the band Lopii.

“I think for me the idea of walking around campus and just hearing music all around is absolutely amazing,” added her bandmate Olivia Lopez ’21.

 

The lineup for Friday is as follows:

Beckham Hall:

3:10 p.m. gonzo

4 p.m. Sweetburger

4:40 p.m. Jackie Weo

5:20 p.m. g. flores

6:10 p.m. Mattabesset String Collective

 

World Music Hall:

3:25 p.m. Quasimodal

3:40 p.m. Audrey Mills

4:10 p.m. The Basukes

4:50 p.m. Rebecca Roff

5:30 p.m. la media chulla

5:50 p.m. Lopii

6:10 p.m. Baby Leelo

 

92 Theater:

3:20 p.m. Livia Wood

3:50 p.m. Pablo Lee-Davis

4:30p.m. Iris Olympia

5:10p.m. Philippe Bungabong

5:40 p.m. Ian etc.

6 p.m. Lily Gitlitz

 

Dani Smotrich-Barr can be reached at dsmotrichbar@wesleyan.edu.