From Oct. 3 to Oct. 5, AubFest hosted an estimated 1,200 attendees for its seventh edition at the local ATV park, Boggin’ On The Plains. Tickets for the biannual festival’s largest year yet sold for $30 online and included access to camping, food trucks, retail vendors and over 30 performances — including the headliner, Post Sex Nachos.
Winding dirt roads along a dense tree line greeted festival goers, as they entered Boggin’ On The Plains. A sea of tents, cars and trucks formed as people began setting up their campsites when doors opened on Friday afternoon. The ages of attendees spanned across generations, all flaunting a unique style ranging from floral skirts and cowboy boots to band tees and Doc Martens.
Julia Downs, sophomore in biosystems engineering, was a first-time AubFest attendee because as a freshman, she was too nervous to attend AubFest alone. Looking forward to watching her friends perform, Downs has found a community at Auburn through the local music scene.
“Auburn definitely has a reputation for being like rah-rah, SEC [and] sorority, but then you find little pockets of cool and unique and interesting people,” Downs said. “I think it’s the fact that [AubFest] is unexpected makes it super special, and once you find it, it makes you really appreciate it.”
Founded in 2022 by Auburn alumna Ashley Spencer, AubFest is a DIY art and music festival, hosted once per semester. Since Spencer’s graduation, students Riley Dimon, Aiden Calderon-Wyant and Carter Zane have taken over as the new AubFest directors.
“Every year I look forward to [AubFest] because I see all my friends. I see all these artists. I see people smiling, goofing around, dancing in the dirt,” said Calderon-Wyant, AubFest's community programs director. “It just makes me so happy to see everyone happy.”
Next to the main stage, AubFest-branded t-shirts, hats, prints and stickers were on sale. Located in between The Grove and The Bog, attendees browsed through the nine vendors selling vintage clothes, soap, crochet, handcrafted jewelry and art. Some of the vendors present included Tay’s Trinkets, Micropothecary, Vibrant Inks and Death Defying Vintage.
Death Defying Vintage, operated by Jonathan Ketchum, sells vintage clothing and t-shirts and is based out of Mobile, Alabama. Ketchum has sold vintage clothes for several decades.
Within the last three years, he transitioned from online-only transactions to increased in-person sales by attending markets and events like AubFest.
“I've never been here, so I wasn't sure if where I was going to be vending at would be close enough to the stages to still see and hear the bands,” Ketchum said. “I'm just excited to be able to vend like I always do, but then also have the experience of getting to see live bands while I'm doing it.”
On Friday, AubFest featured 10 acts at The Bog: Anna Colson, The Normas, Pink Noire, The Band Silhouette, Medicine Bus, Jombi, Marz and Yes Daddy. Sho was scheduled to perform but was unable to make it to the festival due to transportation issues.
Anna Colson, vocalist and senior in commercial music, opened up the festival on Friday with a cover of Paramore's "Brick By Boring Brick." She also performed several original songs, including “Nice Girls" from her EP “I Should’ve Known.”
Colson participated in Auburn University’s commercial music ensemble, Sonic Nation, and other AU choirs. Jilla Webb, her vocal professor, taught her how to perform and become more comfortable on a stage. Colson credits her growth and on-stage personality to the AU music program.
“I could sing, and that was about it,” Colson said. “So really, getting to learn how to utilize the stage and have chemistry with your players helped make it go from just a girl singing to a show.”
An electric performance by Pink Noire, Auburn’s own pop-rock band, elicited a chant from the crowd for an encore. The all-female group ended their set with a cover of “All I Wanted” by Paramore.
“I have never felt more like a rock star, honestly,” said Sally Little, vocalist and bass player for Pink Noire. “I’ve never felt more loved on stage.”
Little was at the inaugural AubFest and has come to the festival every semester since. Along with AubFest’s founder Ashley Spencer, the duo created The 512, a live music venue. As for their band, Little met Blye Guffy, drummer, and Emma Kennedy, guitarist and vocalist, at a sound check for their first Pink Noire performance.
“We are lowkey the most last-minute band to ever exist,” Guffy said.
Sally Little, vocalist and bass player of Pink Noire, performs at AubFest VII on Friday, Oct. 3.
Medicine Bus, a Southern rock jam band, performed a mix of original songs and covers, including “Shakedown Street” by Grateful Dead and “Wild Night” by Van Morrison. The 3-year-old band has played at AubFest once before and is currently working on an independent album, in addition to playing other shows.
“[AubFest] is such an inviting, fun place, and the energy out here is unmatched,” said Sims Ruffino, percussionist for Medicine Bus. “I would say, as far as an independent festival, there’s not really a better one in Alabama.”
At The Grove, AubFest’s new experimental stage created for other community acts, CJ Fagan performed a folk-acoustic set with her music producer. Later in the night, the alternative rock band Warhol took the stage for their first Aubfest performance, covering “Killah” by Lady Gaga.
The Normas, The Band Silhouette and Jombi also rocked out with the crowd throughout Friday evening. Birmingham producer, Marz, followed by indie-sleaze artist, Yes Daddy, capped the night into the early hours of Saturday morning with dance-heavy DJ sets.
On Saturday, AubFest featured over 20 performers. Early on Saturday morning, AubFest started the day with a chill, 2000s-inspired house set from DJ Chopp and provided campers with free coffee, courtesy of Coffee Mafia.
Sand Pipers, a surf-rock band, followed Okay Kenedi with an energetic set. Their cover songs from Surf Curse and The B-52s, “Rock Lobster,” were major crowd pleasers. Knocking the dirt off the ground, the festival goers moshed, danced and headbanged along to the fast-paced music.
With Slug Bleed, a slam metal band from Dothan, Alabama, the moshing and headbanging increased to full intensity. Known for the dog cage present at their performances, attendees shoved each other inside of the square cage.
“AubFest has something beautiful here. You have people from all backgrounds, all races, ethnicities, sexualities, religions, and no one here is bringing any of it up,” said Jacob, vocalist of Slug Bleed. “Treasure the good that you have, because you don't know when you won't have any good left.”
Over at The Grove, Mizfits hosted seven local drag artists. Mizfits co-director Skittles encouraged consent, respect and tipping via a QR code during the performance.
“[AubFest is] a great place for all types of people to feel understood, to feel accepted. It's a great alternative scene, which I'm really happy that Auburn has, and we get to try that as well at the Coffee Mafia with our vomit vision shows,” said Biscuit, a local drag queen. “It's something resembling an alternative drag show, so it's really great to have these kinds of places in Auburn exist.”
As the evening continued, Mayweather, Yes Dear, Varsity Blues, Sunhouse, Queen City Avenue and Shock Tea performed for the crowd, which grew substantially larger by the hour. Around 600 tickets sold were online, while 600 tickets were sold at entry.
The Band Honey, hailing from Auburn, got the crowd off their feet, inviting them to form a mosh pit in front of the stage. In their matching overalls, they performed several hits, including “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears and “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon.
During their cover of “Drive” by Goose, Zeph Embers rallied the crowd with his twirling fire batons.
“It’s also awesome to watch so many different people dance to so many different kinds of music,” said Curry Jones, guitarist for The Band Honey. “It’s people that probably wouldn’t be in the same crowd normally, but they’re all here enjoying art and other people’s expression.”
Members of The Band Honey have attended previous AubFests as listeners, so they were brimming with excitement to finally perform at the festival.
“The vibe here is so incredible,” said Wilson Gore, lead singer and rhythm guitarist. “We’ve been dying to play here for a long time.”
Punk band County Road Basement followed up with a setlist of rock hits, including “Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet and “Call Me” by Blondie, which got the crowd jumping.
Headliner Post Sex Nachos, a self-described “in your face” band based in Nashville, Tenn., exploded with upbeat energy, dancing around the stage and interacting with the crowd. The group performed their original songs mixed with a few familiar hits, like “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor.
For their song “Keep Moving,” they asked the audience to join the band members in a simple two-step dance, and they had a sing along with the crowd while playing their other songs “Talk About It” and “Growing Old.”
Post Sex Nachos performed their new single “Supergirl” and an unreleased song, “SOS,” which is scheduled to drop on Nov. 7.
“I think it’s what we get back from the crowd,” said bassist Chase Mueller about performing. “We do it because we love music, and we love playing our music. But I mean, it’s also very cool to see people resonating with it and also really digging in.”
Carmine Sun, an Auburn-based shoegaze band, and hyperpop artist CLD performed before the boiler room afterparty started, which featured DJs Trey Baby, Mourning Dove and Asper.
From lively dancing to drum beats that shook the ground, the DIY community outpoured exhilarating excitement and energy at Aubfest VII, continuing to propel the festival’s relentless growth and outreach.
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Jennifer Santiago, junior majoring in political science and minoring in history, has been with The Auburn Plainsman since Fall 2024. Santiago previously served as a news writer, and she is currently serving as the Lifestyle Editor.
Katelyn Smith, sophomore majoring in journalism, is from Birmingham, Alabama. She has been with The Auburn Plainsman since the fall of 2025.
