Quinnipiac University’s Student Programming Board and WQAQ 98.1 FM hosted Fall Fest — their annual fall music festival — on Nov. 4 on the quad. Students enjoyed free food from various food trucks, participated in a variety of activities and, of course, listened to a free concert from headliner Peach Tree Rascals.
Students got a punch card when they walked in, and if they got all 10 spots signed, they could enter to win a free sweatshirt. To do this, students had to participate in various events, such as taking a picture inside an inflatable bobcat, going to a food truck, riding the mechanical bull or stopping by the SPB and WQAQ tables. Only the first 150 students to fill the card were eligible for the custom Fall Fest beige crew neck adorned with pastel pumpkins.
PLANNING FOR THE ANNUAl EVENT
Avery Simonds, a senior interdisciplinary studies major and SPB mainstage chair, said that the planning started in May, continued throughout the entire summer and picked up once the semester started.
Simonds said that SPB has hosted rappers in the past and she wanted to go on a different path by choosing an indie artist. She said that she wanted to create the feel of being at a local fair.
“I wanted to create the vibe of what I grew up going to and I feel like that brings a nostalgia factor,” Simonds said. “I also looked into what has been popular on TikTok, so Peach Tree Rascals was just the natural choice for me.”
SPB and WQAQ wanted the merchandise to have a cool, pastel color tone instead of the brighter oranges and reds used in the past.
“We were thinking if we are going to do indie pop, bedroom pop vibes, we did not want a loud in-your-face color scheme,” said Jennifer Moglia, a senior media studies major, WQAQ general manager and a staff writer for The Chronicle. “I don’t think that’s very PTR.”
Attendees also had the opportunity to get free t-shirts, lip balm, stickers and keychains at the event.
The organizers wanted to bring in an indie artist that some people may know, or at least be familiar with some of their songs.
“When it came down to it, Avery just wanted the vibe to be fall, more of an indie time, kind of sit down, not really a concert where you stand and jump and up down, but sit there and eat some food and relax and have a fun time,” said Zachary Iwatsuki, a senior health science studies major and SPB president. “That’s where she landed and I landed on Peach Tree Rascals.”
The event was originally scheduled for Oct. 14, but got moved back because of rain to avoid any safety concerns.
Putting the stage on the quad with the rain would’ve damaged the grass and it couldn’t be moved inside because the stage would be too heavy and damage the floor, Iwatsuki said.
Luckily the new date had bright sunshine and temperatures in the 50s, so the event was able to run as planned this past Saturday.
“November is a time where people might feel the burnout and people might just want to go home for Thanksgiving,” Iwatsuki said. “We want to give them a time to just relax and have time with their friends, maybe meet new people and just ultimately have a clear mind going into the next few weeks of school.”
A CONVERSATION WITH PEACH TREE RASCALS
The Peach Tree Rascals’ band members: Issac Pech, Dominic Pizano, Tarrek Abdel-Khaliq and Joseph and Jasper Barros performed in Connecticut for the first time ever at Quinnipiac on Saturday. The members share a close bond and have been friends for years.
“We all grew up together and we’re all best friends since high school so I think having that close relationship before the music and then bringing that into the music just builds for good success,” Joseph Barros said.
The band came up with its name through trial and error before its first song came out.
“We came up with our band name by throwing things at the wall two weeks before we released our first song,” Pech said. “We were just trying to figure out the name. Jorge, our creative director, who’s back home, came up with Peach Tree Village. I did not like village, so I replaced it with rascals and we ran with it.”
The members said that performing for a college audience differs from a regular crowd because not every student will know all their songs.
“It’s obviously really fun when everybody knows all the words and the crowd, everyone came for you,” Pech said. “But it’s also fun, kind of like a sport or a challenge, to get on stage and warm the crowd up and by the end of the show have everyone happy.”
Peach Tree Rascals are well known on TikTok for their song “Mariposa” and the band members attributed a lot of their success to the platform.
“TikTok is the main reason why all of our success came from,” Abdel-Khaliq said. “‘Mariposa’ blew up on TikTok for a dance but it feels weird saying that because we didn’t really do anything. It was other people who made the dance go viral and used the song.”
Abdel-Khaliq said “it’s a beautiful thing” to see people react to the band’s music on social media.
“I just like being able to connect with the audience on a deeper level,” Abdel-Khaliq said.
Similar to the SPB and WQAQ organizers, the members of PTR also wanted students to leave the stress of school and life behind and have fun.
“I hope they leave feeling better if they weren’t feeling good, better, lighter, happier than they did before they came to the show,” Abdel-Khaliq said. “That’s kind of the point of the energy we like to bring. So, people leave all their worries, problems and stresses behind them and enjoy the moment, jump around, scream and just let it all out.”
DAY OF FESTIVITIES AND PTR’S NEWEST AND BIGGEST FANS
For the most part, students were pleased with the new genre picked for the event this year.
“I actually listen to (Peach Tree Rascals’) music and I love their music so I’m really excited,” said Gillian Galvin, a first- year health science studies major in the occupational therapy program. “I can’t think of one (song) that’s my favorite because I love all of their music so I’m just excited for them to perform.”
While some students at the event were already big fans of PTR, some were just hearing them for the first time at the event.
“It’s really interesting,” Chloe Cogovan, a first-year interdisciplinary studies major, said. “I’ve never heard of the band so I’m excited to hear what they got. I like (the genre), it’s usually the genre I listen to anyways so it’s good to hear something like that.”
Other attendees just wanted to spend the day out with friends and get out of their dorms.
“It’s better than being held up in my room,” said Colin Strickland, a first-year criminal justice major. “There’s legit nothing to do other than homework so I just want something fun.”
Jai Hernandez, a sophomore game design and development major, came to the event for the free food. At the event, he visited the different tables and took pictures with students in costumes and near the inflatable bobcat.
“I didn’t really hear about (Peach Tree Rascals),” Hernandez said. “I only knew about them through a song on TikTok but then I recognized their name when the event was announced. I think (the genre’s) pretty fitting for Fall Fest and I really enjoyed that it’s indie.”
Bridget Clarke, a sophomore history major, said that she was said she was happy with the genre of music SPB picked for this year’s event because it was more of her style than artists the club has hosted in the past.
“I’m really excited,” Clarke said. “I’ve been listening to them to get to know their songs and I’m excited to hear them.”
Many students took advantage of going to all the events to get their cards signed by SPB and WQAQ organizers so they could try to win a crewneck.
Attendees got to ride a mechanical bull and try to beat their friends on who could stay on the longest or try an inflatable hippo game similar to the popular childhood game “Hungry Hungry Hippos.” Others decided to participate in lawn games such as cornhole and Kan Jam.
“I did the bull ride like four times,” said Sese Allerheiligen, a sophomore software engineering major in the 3+1 software engineering and cybersecurity program. “I got up to 16 seconds, not to flex.”
Troy Sheldon, a junior health science studies major was making a run to Starbucks with his friends, ssaw Fall Fest happening on the Quad and decided to check out the event.
“It seems pretty cool so far,” Sheldon said. “We walked to all the tables over there, did some Jenga over here.”
PTR TAKES THE STAGE
After eating the free food from Silver Sands Pizza, Blue Chip Creamery and What the Truck and participating in all the different games and crafts, students gathered near the stage at 2 p.m. for the main performance.
“I really enjoyed (the performance),” Allerheiligen said. “I never heard of them before. ‘Mariposa’ was the song that my friends were like, ‘If you’ve heard of them, that’s the one song you would’ve heard’ and I hadn’t. Part of me was like should I listen to their stuff before Fall Fest and then I was like, ‘No I’ll go in blind, that’ll be fun’ and I came and I just really enjoyed it.”
The concert had a very relaxed but upbeat vibe. Students sat on blankets spread throughout the quad. Some got up to get a closer view and jumped up and down near the gate in front of the stage with their friends.
“I really liked it,” said Camryn Keller, a junior software engineering major. “I thought it was fun. I was laying back here and just enjoying the music … I enjoyed their crowd work, even though I didn’t want to go up there.”
The event gave students a chance to listen to music, eat and play games with their friends to try to de-stress and have fun for the afternoon.
“I hope that students get a really fun day out of it,” Simonds said. “I know that with midterms, finals, tests, exams, it’s really stressful and I hope that students use that Saturday as a way to just de-stress and unload and have a great time and just not stress about class.”
