Music festival AubFest V rocked local ATV recreation park Boggin’ on The Plains on Nov. 2. Held once a semester, AubFest has rapidly grown into a community that came out in droves to support local talent and each other.
The brainchild of Ashely Spencer, AubFest presents itself as a scrappy, grungy festival which more than lived up to its nickname as “The Loveliest DIY Music Festival in Auburn.”
A rough and rocky trail through the forest lined with strategically placed skeletons holding signs reading “AubFest this way!” led to the festival. At the end of the road is a wide open park where the first thing that catches the eye is a veritable mountain of discarded branches and dry leaves at the far end of the space.
Looking around, local artisans sold prints, jewelry, quilts and other assorted handmade pieces. Beyond them, was a fenced-in area directly in front of the main stage, where an early band played and a few fans danced by themselves.
Other festival goers were behind the stage and pit, laying down picnic blankets, hanging out on tailgates, and venturing up a small hill next to a giant painting of Edgar Allen Poe and his raven to set up tents as the event offered free camping for the night.
Festivalgoers dancing at the Nov. 2 AubFest at Boggin' On the Plains.
One of those tents was special and unique to the event though, and served as AubFest’s second stage. The Vibes Tent is a new addition to the festival and is a community showcase of acts that don’t include music. Some of the special events included yoga and dance in the morning and a slate of stand-up comics in the afternoon.
This Halloween edition of Aubfest inspired festivalgoers to show up in costume. Wizards and warlocks moshed with Bob Rosses. One of the musical acts, Walter Lloyd and a band of Auburn commercial music students, took the stage in full Men in Black gear complete with ray guns and a green alien on drums. They played their song “Dopamine” with a call-and-response bit that got the whole pit jumping.
After the sun had gone down, the aforementioned foliage pile was set ablaze and grew into a mesmerizing bonfire. Embers soared into the November night sky, and if you angled yourself just right, you could see the silhouette of Khari Allen Lee playing a jazz version of Free Bird against the flames, which made for an album cover-worthy sight.
Khari Allen Lee (saxophonist) at Aubfest at Boggin' on the Plains on November 3rd, 2024
Though a fascinating backdrop, the bonfire would quickly spell trouble for the festival. Event staff setting up for the next band, Lunar Parque, after Lee’s set determined that the heat of the bonfire was too great, and put the performers and equipment at risk.
A wave of disappointment hit the crowd and the bands psyching themselves up backstage, but it did not fully turn over to despondence. In keeping with the spirit of AubFest, artists and the community instead looked to silver linings, and what the next AubFest could bring.
It would not take until the next AubFest though; performers and staff dismantled the main stage, regrouped, and set up an impromptu third stage around some picnic tables for Lunar Parque and the remaining acts to perform. The DIY spirit of AubFest at work once again.
Aubfest staff moves the last two sets to the food stall nearby when the bonfire got too hot for equipment on the mainstage at Boggin' on the Plains on November 3rd, 2024.
AubFest is a unique experience in that there is a palpable sense of belief in the mission of giving local artists a voice and inspiring the pursuit of personal inspiration. AubFest had moments where it felt like a haven for people, talents and ideas that might not fit the mold of a traditional college town.
“I was in a fraternity my first years on campus and I loved them, loved all that stuff. But at the same time, it’s not about paying for anything like that. There’s more to offer than just Greek life,” Bryson Bryne, stand-up comedian and opener for the Vibes Tent comedy set said. “There’s the real deal and this is the real deal.”
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Jack Fawcett is a sports production major from San Diego, California. He started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
