Trinity is welcoming a brand new campus tradition this year with KRTUfest, an on-campus music festival. The event will include live music from four local bands with Trinity connections, a food truck and free merch, and will take place on April 14 from 5-10 p.m. on Prassel Lawn. The event is free to attend for both Trinity students as well as off-campus guests.

Functioning more like a music festival rather than a single concert, KRTUfest promises to be different from the annual SPB-sponsored concert, which aims to bring widely known artists (such as Waka Flocka Flame) to campus. The festival will include indie bands ranging in styles from acoustic country to alternative rock. There will also be food available for purchase from Lokahi Aloha Grindz, a Hawaiian food truck, so no need to settle for another Mabee dinner.

In the future, KRTU hopes to grow the event. For now, though, Monica Reina, KRTU station manager and overseer of this event’s planning, has big plans for the event.

“We’d like it to be bigger right now. … As far as production-wise, the stage is going to be the Trinity portable stage, which is, you know, not that big, but we’d like in the future maybe to have a bigger stage, maybe more well-known band, national touring bands,” Reina said.

As for this year’s festivities, the festival will begin with a live DJ from 5-6 p.m., before moving on to the musical acts. Dylan Lee (@dylanleemusic), first-year marketing major at Trinity and a singer-songwriter style musician who is often compared to Taylor Swift by fans, will open the show. Lee appreciates events like KRTUfest that focus on building community among musicians.
“It’s very important as musicians to support one another, and what I really like about KRTU is that they do support local live music and I think it’s really great that they not only do that, but now they’re also hosting this event where musicians can perform. … I can’t wait to come and watch, let alone perform,” Lee said.

Next on the lineup is Collective Dreams (@collective_dreams), an indie rock band that features Albert Salinas, TigerTV/KRTU operations manager, on guitar. Then, Retro Cowgirl (@retrocowgirlband) will take the stage. Retro Cowgirl includes Trinity student Jonluca Biagini, senior computer science major, on drums. This band values the fans they have found within the Trinity community and hopes to build this connection even further.

“Our goal with our fanbase is to make them feel like they’re part of the band. … We are not a five-piece band, we are a community,” Retro Cowgirl’s guitarist Luis Fiallos said.

The headliner and closing act of the festival is NASA Country (@nasacountry), a new-age country group that is adding the event to its Texas tour. This band includes KRTU music director Kory Cook on drums.

These bands’ connections to Trinity are evident in their prioritization of student fanbases in all their performances. One of the bands, Retro Cowgirl, can often be seen advertising to students on campus about local shows and saying they appreciate the support from Trinity students they receive.

“College fanbases are really great for rock bands. That’s the demographic that you want to be in, that’s even taking my love for Trinity students out of it. … We honestly are very biased, we just really love the students at Trinity,” Lucky Steele, Retro Cowgirl’s lead singer said.

The fact that all the bands have connections to the Trinity community demonstrates how this event is made with students in mind. It also serves as a way to elevate people within Trinity as the acts included have direct ties to the university.

Not only is this event designed for Trinity students to attend, but it is also organized by students. KRTU employs several student interns,* a few of which have worked to organize this event entirely.

All in all, this event is designed for students looking for good music and good times.

“It’s an event to bring all the students together around music. So, if you like music, you like being on campus here celebrating with friends and community, it’s just a great opportunity for students to gather and see some great music,” Reina said.

*Angelina D’Elia, Trinitonian arts & entertainment editor, serves as one of the KRTU student interns.