First Wompapalooza celebrates electronic music in mid-Michigan; creator hopes to continue festival
Loryn Roberson pulled off her green shoes on Saturday and danced her way into the mud, moving in tune to the funky/nu disco/house music beats reverberating through the ground.
The Beaverton freshman was one of more than 1,000 people at Wompapalooza Electronic Music Festival, mid-Michigan's first outdoor electronic music festival. More than 30 electronic artists kept the beat as dubstep, house, trance and other electronic genres played from noon until 11 p.m. Saturday at Salt River Acres, 926 Greendale Road in Shepherd.
Roberson said her favorite part of Wompapalooza was the dancing.
"I took off my shoes because a friend convinced me that it was awesome," she said. "I wore tie-dye because I know ravers like to wear bright colors, and it was warm out so I got to wear shorts."
Roberson said she spent the day dancing with her friends and painting people's faces.
Orion senior Nick Bryce came up with the idea for Wompapalooza and helped bring the festival to fruition.
"I have a passion for this kind of music, and I feel like this music scene needed something like this," he said. "Obviously there's a good amount of people that would come to something like this, (and) nobody's really done anything before."
Bryce said one of the reasons for Wompapalooza's inception was because house parties/raves can only be so loud but a field off the beaten path is a different story.
"We wanted to do something really big toward the end of the year," he said.
Wompapalooza had three different stages featuring artists from across Michigan, including Naiswan of East Lansing and Detroit acts Laceration Selekta and ZooLogic.
Shelby Township artist Ross Regits, or Regnasty, was eager to perform at his first outdoor venue on the unseasonably warm day.
"It's very cool to see that electronic music is getting out there and more popular," Regits said. "I've never done anything outdoor before and it's great to have such a nice day for this."
A few vendors selling food, hula hoops, T-shirts, blankets and other merchandise were at the festival.
Whitmore Lake resident Jade Huling said she is a fan of electronic dance music, and drove up from home to stay with a friend and enjoy the festival.
Dressed in electric blue leggings, ruffled pink hot-pants and fuzzy rainbow leg warmers, Huling had glitter and metallic makeup on with a pacifier hanging from her neck.
"(I dressed this way) because it's colorful and I feel like a rainbow," she said. "(My friend and I) feel like fairies."
Huling said she attends raves with her friends once or twice a month, but Wompapalooza was bigger and better than the electronic music events she usually frequents.
"I love the lights, lasers and all the people," she said.
Farmington Hills junior Alex Vanderstuyf was pleased to see such a large event dedicated to the many different electronic genres.
"I think the festival is a great thing, I really hope this catches on," Vanderstuyf said. "Mid-Michigan doesn't have anything else like this."
Though Bryce will graduate from Central Michigan University before next spring, he said there is a lot of interest in continuing Wompapalooza. Bryce said Midland freshman Nick Mallonee, who partnered with Bryce in creating Wompapalooza, has already expressed interest in spearheading next year's project.
"I'll definitely continue my work, and try to just make it an even better festival next year, hopefully," Bryce said.
