Black Squirrel Radio at Promowest Fest

Review by Katherine Wilkes

Photos by Mark Tabar and Mark Fleming 

Promowest Fest was held in Columbus, Ohio, on July 15th through July 17th. It included bands such as X Ambassadors, AlunaGeorge, All Time Low, LL Cool J, and even Snoop Dogg! Promowest Fest was much more than I expected—and better!

Summer night sparklers Pepsi ad meets late 2000s rom-com was the atmosphere for Finished Ticket’s set. They were supposed to play Friday, yet their turnout was unbelievably thriving early Saturday afternoon. Their tunes had me grooving alone. This happened several times throughout the fest that day.

AlunaGeorge, hailing from London, can be described as a Young Thug-Icona Pop hybrid. Their music will have you gyrating your shoulders by the second song. AlunaGeorge is the perfect soundtrack for a night-in with a special someone.

While there were typos in the set times and other small yet critical details, people were so friendly. My friend, who attended the fest with me, former Black Squirrel Radio host, Alexandra Taylor, spoke to the Accessibility pen’s security guard about how Promowest Fest tops any other fest. The set-up had a perfect mixture of people-watching, picnic blankets, exploration, and fun.

Dani and Sarah, Pickerington North seniors, whom I met while waiting for All Time Low to start enjoyed the fest, as well. Dani mentioned, “It’s lit, but don’t put that.” I asked for permission to put that blurb over a nice laugh together. Sarah adds in, “I like how the stages are set up.” The stages were placed at both ends of the park. One was in front of a beautiful archway. This kept the stages easily accessed and perfectly tight-knit.

One thing that I heard as a complaint was that each artist did not have their own merch tent. Therefore, the official merch tent could only sell one t-shirt per artist. Another was that several acts had to drop the show due to schedule complications. This was not necessarily Promowest’s fault. It happens commonly in the business. The space in-between acts due to cancellations brought a benefit to fest-goers. This may include finishing a conversation, meeting new people, using the bathrooms, or getting refreshments.

For all that it is worth, whether the distance or the heat exhaustion, I highly recommend Promowest Fest for all ages. It has artists from all genres. It gave me a glance at genres I never thought I would enjoy.