For students, by students — the Bear Down Music Festival returned on a larger scale than ever before for another year of music, activities and time spent with friends on campus. This year, the event took place on May 7 on the University of Arizona Mall. As it was the last day of class, students had the opportunity to take a break from studying for finals and enjoy a concert right in the heart of campus.
“We are bringing so much this year,” Anyssa Sanchez, the marketing director on the BDMF team, said. “It’s going to be completely different from the previous years. We have so many more activities and so much happening, it’s not going to be only music. The vibe we wanted to create was a little bit for everybody.”
This year’s headliner was Dayglow, an indie pop artist known for popular hits like “Can I Call You Tonight?,” “Run the World” and “Hot Rod.” Other artists featured in the lineup included country singer Mackenzie Carpenter, Aux Cord Wars, Edgewood Heavy, The Hawthorne Experience and Silveretta.
“I think really having a variety is what allows different groups of people to come to the event,” Sanchez said. “We have two student local bands that are indie rock and indie pop, both which really help grasp everybody’s taste and even if they only like country, they’re still able to come to the festival and hear different types of music and maybe gain a new favorite artist.”
“We pride ourselves on bringing at least one artist that the majority of students will recognize and be excited for and then prioritizing new and up-and-coming artists that might grow exponentially throughout the next couple of years,” Maya Kostov, the executive director for Wildcat Events Board, said.
Her position served as one of the connecting points between the BDMF team and WEB, the university’s programming board responsible for putting on many of the events seen on campus. The student-run organization had an ambassador pool of over 50 students who assisted with the execution of the festival, according to Kostov.
The planning process for the festival began as early as the year prior, with preparations for this year’s BDMF starting in September 2024, according to Kaley McHaffie, the WEB concerts director and BDMF executive director. McHaffie collaborated with other organizations and businesses on campus leading up to BDMF, such as Campus Closet, Cork & Craft, Student Made and Cats After Dark.
“It has been go, go, go, ever since [September],” McHaffie said. “Contracting with artists, vendors and activities takes time […] I don’t think many people would know that. The first thing we do to begin the planning process is brainstorm what the vibes of the festival should be and this could include a color scheme, aesthetic, or even an era we want to recreate. We create mood boards as a team to decide what we like and don’t like and we also put polls on our social media to hear what types of music students are listening to so we can get a better grasp of our target audience.”
“Choosing the artist and performers is also contingent on if that artist is available at that time and we have to work with Coachella weekends, for example. If we want to do Bear Down Music Festival earlier in the year, we have to keep that in mind as a lot of larger-named artists are not going to be available for the lineup, which we try to relate to the overall vibe and theme of the festival,” Kostov said.
The festival’s theme this year took inspiration from the desert landscape surrounding Tucson, with rodeo being the suggested attire for the event. Students were encouraged to dress up in western attire, whether in boots, belts or anything they felt most comfortable in, according to Sanchez.
“Who doesn’t love a good cowboy boot and cowboy hat?” Sanchez said.
The BDMF team made several alterations to this year’s festival to cater more towards what students want, according to Kostov.
“We’ve made changes in terms of security and just streamlining the check-in process,” Kostov said. “This year we have two [check-in spots] and designated points of entry and exit and we hope this will relieve a little bit of the congestion that we saw last year specifically in the arts and crafts area. We have always been trying to make modifications from year to year […]. This year I hope will be the biggest that we’ve had yet.”
The festival will allow students to reduce any stress around finals or leaving campus for the summer and help foster a greater sense of school spirit at the UA.
“It’s supposed to be a last hurrah to have some fun, as college is not always about locking yourself in a library room 24/7,” Kostov said. “We hope it has a lasting impact that students will remember and think back on and that students see the lineup and say ‘This is really cool, I’m really proud to be at the University of Arizona.’”
Sanchez has similar thoughts on what she wants the outcome of the festival to be.
“I want them [students] to leave having maybe a new favorite artist or adding a song to their playlist that they never would have before, or even making memories with their friends doing the the activities around the festival, leaving feeling inspired and creative,” Sanchez said.
The BDMF team, alongside WEB, are excited to showcase the festival to students in a matter of days.
“There is no better feeling than seeing the team’s hard work come to life!” McHaffie said.