This year’s Spring Music Festival drummed up high support with new performers and leaders, April 23-25. The event’s planning committee, consisting of Lily Cao (9), Sama Elkhamy (9), and Sofia Bell (9), added their own twists on the festival, beginning with the introduction of the festival’s first-ever theme, Tangled.

“For a lot of the other years, [the theme] was just kind of like spring-y, which is nice, but I feel like Tangled was also kind of spring-y,” Elkhamy said. “It was easier to figure out activities and spirit days because of [the theme], and a lot of people got into it.”

They also added a third day, which Cao attributed to an influx of new performers.

“[The addition of the third day] was because we had so many people audition and we didn’t want to cut any of them,” Cao said. “Obviously there’s so much talent, so we decided to add another day so that we could have more people perform. Overall we like to think if they’re confident enough to put themselves out there and audition for Spring Music Festival, we try to keep them on.”

Singer Mysha Syahrial (10), who performed Grover Washington’s “Just the Two of Us” and Laufey’s “From the Start”, said the new performers diversified and elevated the event.

“There was a third day that really surprised me because there were a lot more people performing,” Syahrial said. “I guess another difference this year was just the variety of performances. I felt like last year, a lot of them were [solo] singing or instrument-playing, but this time it wasn’t just that — there were a lot more bands, a lot more different [performances].”

This year’s festival featured three bands, including Garageborne, The Hungry Caterpillars, and Noise on Ragweed, and two clubs, including Korean Pop Culture Dance Club and Fellowship of the Sing. Last year, only one band was showcased: Noise on Ragweed. Its lead singer, Leilani Aboy (12), said that she is glad to see the influence of last year’s performers in this year’s.

“Comparing last year’s festival to this year, I think what’s really cool is I feel like [our band] is one of the reasons they added another day,” she said. “More people wanted to perform, and they thought having a band at the Spring Music Festival was cool and they wanted to do that, so I think that’s really cool how more people want to show their talent.”

The band’s drummer, Anand Binu (12), said that the surge in student interest in this year’s festival was welcomed.

“I think the community that [last year’s festival] created was really unprecedented and I don’t think any of us expected it,” Binu said. “It’s just awesome that everybody gets to showcase their talent. Generally, more people are smiling, and I think that’s awesome.”

Jordyn Nygren (12), who performed Grace Potter’s “Something That I Want,” said she views this expansion as an expansion of the school’s art culture.

“This school is known for its academics, so [there were] people that I know but have never known that they had interest in music or wanted to perform,” Nygren said. “To see them on stage and see that other side of them is really cool.”

Nygren, president of Westview Theater Company, said she believes that this school-wide involvement connected the student body.

“I feel like [the festival] brought the whole school together because in theater, we get a usual crowd that comes to watch our shows, and I feel like the Spring Music Festival involves the whole school,” Nygren said. “We came together, and everyone was so supportive too. I thought it was a great thing.”

For Binu, this unification is the reward of performing.

“Being able to play music in general brings people together, not just us who are playing it, but people who are listening to it,” Binu said. “Being able to look out into the crowd and see people [cheering and reacting] — that’s a great feeling.”

On the more technical side, Aboy said performing in front of their peers gave performers an opportunity to improve.

“When we practice, we’re in a pretty chill environment and we feel like it’s okay to make mistakes,” Aboy said. “When you’re on a stage, it’s good to just adapt to the mistakes that you make and make it seamless, not react to them.”

Syahrial said that the festival united performers and audience members at a key time of the school year.

“The Spring Music Festival comes at a really nice time near the end of the year, but not there yet,” she said. “I just feel like it’s a nice way for everybody at our school to come together to have one more breath of fresh air.”