Before the night was over, people would get to enjoy the music of bands from Louisiana, Honduras and Sweden.
“It’s a great draw,” tent volunteer Alan Simmerman said.
He said he has friends from Indianapolis and Terre Haute who come down every year.
“It’s such a great opportunity to see music,” he said as people began to file into the tent to prepare for the first act, the Revelers.
Simmerman said he has volunteered at Lotus Festival since 2007 but that there were some veterans of the event that have worked for 15 or even 20 years.
“It really is a town event,” he said.
As 7 p.m. approached, people began gathering in large groups under the tent, talking, drinking and preparing themselves for a long night of music.
Matt Wessel, a volunteer and an IU alumnus, said this is his third year volunteering at the festival.
“Most of the time I’m just people-watching,” he said, as people began to listen to the names of sponsors being read from the stage.
After the announcer stepped down, the Revelers, a Cajun swamp pop band from Lafayette, La., brought the stage to life. Bright bursts of Cajun swamp pop music filled the tent, and the audience began to bob their heads and tap their toes along with the band.
As the set went on, the choreographed dance moves and songs in both English and French became part of the experience, causing people to dance in pairs and rows just like the Revelers.
“I’m having a wonderful time,” sophomore Michael Wilson said after stepping outside the tent following some intense dancing.
Though he said he had never heard of the Revelers, the idea of swamp pop drew him to the tent at his first Lotus Festival.
“There’s obviously a very tangible energy,” Wilson said, looking around at the people still moving to the Revelers’ music.
When the Revelers played what they referred to as “old style Cajun music,” incorporating only two fiddles and a triangle played by drummer Glen Fields, people reached for dance partners and kept the tent alive.
Near the end of its set, the band played some songs it has yet recorded and asked the crowd to sing along.
“Ain’t no party like a Louisiana party ‘cause a Louisiana party don’t stop,” said Blake Miller, an accordion and fiddle player for the group.
As the Revelers left the stage, the audience erupted with cheers. The group took its instruments and walked over to its van, discussing the performance.
“It’s a lot of fun to play for people having a good time,” Miller said.
Revelers guitarist Chas Justus said Lotus Festival was worth coming out for, and bassist Eric Frey agreed, commenting on the stage and professionalism of the festival.
Saxophonist Chris Miller said he loves to watch the audience while he is onstage.
“Kids are really cool because they are uninhibited,” he said.
While the Revelers finished packing up, Aurelio Martinez and his band took to the stage, creating a new ?atmosphere.
This was his first time at Lotus fest, and he and his group of drummers, maraca shaker, guitarist and bassist played Afro-Latina and Garifuna music, drawing the audience closer to the stage.
“It’s my music and your music,” he said to a roaring crowd.
From volunteers at their posts to audience members squeezing through the crowd to get closer, most people under the tent gave in to the urge to dance.
Martinez taught the audience lyrics to his songs and told them they were his “most special crowd in the United States in his entire life.”
He took the time to dedicate a song to children starving around the world, talking about how all people are part of the same world and ?community.
“We need peace all around the world,” Martinez said.
After the concert, Martinez said he loved the connection he made with the audience, especially the young people who will bring Garifuna music to the next generation.
As the last few people leaving after Martinez’ set filed out of the tent, dozens more filed past newly stationed security guards into the tent that would soon be taken over by Movits!, a Swedish group that blends hip-hop and swing.
As Movits! took the stage, it stormed the tent with sampling equipment, a saxophone, trombone, bass and vocals that instantly ?enveloped the audience.
Movits! rarely stood still, bouncing and dancing around on the stage, much like the audience, which extended all the way out the back of the tent and into the Pourhouse Café parking lot.
Lead vocalist Johan Rensfeldt flew from one side of the stage to the other, reaching down into the audience to slap high-fives and sing to the cameras of fans.
“This place is one of our favorite places in the whole world,” saxophonist Joakim Nilsson said to the audience. “It’s an amazing time we’re having right now.”
A plain white T-shirt was tossed onto the stage. Rensfeldt and Nilsson joked that they were glad they could make use of it, unlike the bras they had received the same way in the past.
Senior Ashley Nyongani said her friends encouraged her and her sister to stay, and she couldn’t be happier that she did.
“They’re amazing,” she said.
Sing-alongs in Swedish and wild dancing kept the tent alive all the way through the final song.
After Movits! left the stage for the night, people began to slowly file out of the tent, reveling in this experience of culture, community and music.
