Saturday’s 8Fest hosted thousands of rowdy, muddy attendees — including a few local notables. In addition to Cleveland-based headliner Machine Gun Kelly, who was constantly surrounded by a hefty entourage, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was spotted staying hydrated backstage for the majority of the day.
Both Machine Gun Kelly and Pryor turned down requests for comment, but various other DJs and musicians expressed excitement about 8Fest, including Ohio University alumnus and fest founder Dominic Petrozzi. Petrozzi, executive producer of the number-fests, estimated the crowd at 13,000 — the highest attendance yet.“Today was outrageous, to say the least,” Petrozzi said. “MGK obviously killed it. He brought the house down.”
David Carlson, singer and guitarist for Columbus-based rockers The Forties, said the crowd kept throwing cans of beer onstage as his band was playing, adding to the thrill of the performance.“You have to alter the set a little bit for the party,” Carlson said. “I couldn’t even see. It was the craziest thing ever.”
The Forties, however, had to face reality yesterday morning and fly to Los Angeles for a recording session with executives at Atlantic Records. But while still at 8Fest, Carlson said he felt most at home playing in a party atmosphere.
“We started playing in fraternity basements, and I feel like this is the same, but on a grander, muddier scale,” he said.
Returning act DJ E-V, the Cleveland-based artist who created this year’s 8Fest (The Mixtape) with Machine Gun Kelly, said 8Fest is the best party in America.
“We’d never miss it,” he said. “The people are great here. They’re party animals.”
Los Angeles’ DJ Edski, another number-fest regular, said he was especially happy with the weather.
Though the ground was soaked and muddy from past weeks’ rain, temperatures were in the ’80s all day long.
“You know what is really crazy? The sun is out,” Edski said. “For the first time, we’ve got sun.”
When Machine Gun Kelly took the stage at about 6:30 p.m. in a Cleveland Indians jersey, fans rushed the stage, attempting to mirror the rapper, who was climbing the speakers.
The crowd was especially responsive to more well-known Kelly songs such as “Cleveland” and “End of the Road,” a strategy that also employed when spinning familiar ’ and Top 40 jams.
“We want to play the stuff they want to hear,” said. “We play the stuff they know.”
Many of the artists who performed Saturday expressed interest in returning to future fests. The weather or years won’t keep from returning.
“I’ll be coming with a cane, when I’m old,” he said.
Overall, Petrozzi was elated with the outcome of his eighth fest in Athens, which has grown immensely from the 4,500 people who came to 1Fest in 2004.
“The venue is awesome, the staff is awesome,” Petrozzi said. “The police have been awesome and the kids were great.”
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