Fall Fest bands play through rain, sun, wedding pictures

The weather slowly improved as the day progressed, and so did the crowd size for Pitt’s… The weather slowly improved as the day progressed, and so did the crowd size for Pitt’s annual Fall Fest, sponsored by the Pitt Program Council.

Saturday’s Fall Fest included live music, with headliner American Hi-Fi, as well as novelties like freaky photos and pumpkin painting.

The chilly weather and sporadic rain might have deterred some students, but according to PPC advisor Tom Misuraca, 2,000 students attended the event throughout the day, with 750 students coming to watch American Hi-Fi.

The two student opening acts were selected by a panel of judges to perform. The groups, Ami ‘n’ Shaloc and The Lights Ahead, won the PPC-sponsored contest. The Lights Ahead started their set in one of Saturday’s shower bursts, which lead the audience to take cover under the William Pitt Union’s canopies.

But by the end of the set, students were back to watching the music from the middle of Bigelow Boulevard.

Mind Boxing Alliance, a group that hosts a variety of hip-hop talents, also performed. The group, composed of Pitt students, has performed at either the Fall Fest or the Bigelow Bash for the last three years.

“The gig is outside, and it’s right on campus,” said Kharee Staten of Universatile, part of the Mind Boxing Alliance.

By the time Staten performed, the sun was shining and more students had gathered in front of the Bigelow stage.

“It was something interesting to do, other than sit in a room and do work,” Pitt junior Jessica French said.

American Hi-Fi performed while a wedding party took photographs in front of the Cathedral of Learning. Lead singer Stacy Jones joked that the band had never played at a wedding before, and that he probably shouldn’t be swearing.

Ironically, his comment came right after American Hi-Fi played “The Breakup Song.”

“They had a lot of energy and they made fun of the wedding,” freshmen Lily Carr said as she was leaving the event.