Penn State’s student-run Movin’ On music festival celebrates its 50th year
Penn State’s Movin’ On, one of the largest student-run festivals in the country, will celebrate milestones when it opens its doors Friday afternoon. It’s the 50th year of the festival, with a half-century of history and performers, and for many students, it also marks the end of the academic year.
Throughout its history, Movin’ On has evolved in many ways, changing names, organizers and locations. However, its core mission has remained the same: to provide a fun and engaging event for students.
“I hope Movin’ On to its core always stays the way it’s always been: a celebration for seniors moving on from the university, while getting people together over music that they may love, or they may never have heard of, depending on what your genre vibe is,” Bridie Lawall, executive director of the festival, said. “I think there’s such a collective community power of everyone getting together and listening to music and having fun and celebrating. I hope Movin’ On always fosters that type of positive environment for people.”
The student-run festival started at Penn State since 1975. It’s created by students, for students, with a focus on creating a sense of community through shared experiences.
“Bring an empty water bottle, hydrate. The festival is an experience; it’s different than just a regular concert,” Dominic DiFrancesco, director of public relations for the festival, said. “We have so much to offer. We have activities, games, food and sponsors that have amazing activations. Give yourself the time to really experience it.”
One of the most exciting moments for both organizers and the Penn State community is the announcement of the festival’s lineup.
“Lineup is always such an interesting thing. ... You go in knowing that some people are going to have certain expectations of what a lineup could be or should be,” DiFrancesco said. “We’re balancing those expectations with what is realistic for our organization and Penn State to handle, as well as what we think is going to make the most number of students very excited.”
This year’s lineup includes All-American Rejects, Pusha T, Baby Tate, Claire Rosinkranz, and the Movin’ On Battle winner, Fez.
“We try not to repeat ourselves and even not repeat artists that have come to campus recently, just making another killer headliner. Not even a headliner, a killer lineup,” Movin’ On Senior Director Logan Powell said. “Looking at all those names and saying, ‘These are going to be great’. My favorite thing to remind myself is that it might not be my favorite artist, but there’s someone out there looking at our lineup and saying, ‘Oh my gosh! They brought them!’”
As part of the festival’s 50th anniversary, organizers have worked to reflect on the event’s past, reaching out to alumni to attend and learn about Movin’ On’s history.
“I probably went to the Penn State Library Archives twice a week for the first semester, and I would just go through old articles, old publications, lineup release images and photos,” Lawall said. “I really tried to learn the history as much as I could, but also consolidate it so I could start telling more and more people who aren’t in Movin’ On about how long we’ve been here and sharing all the other people’s stories who’ve come before me.”
For the festival’s executive board, one of the most special aspects of Movin’ On is the process of building the event from the ground up.
“When you’re a part of Movin’ On, and even when you volunteer to be a part of it, we are the ones that are putting up the stage and tearing it down,” Powell said. “It takes two days to put the stage up, and it’s a day to take it down right after the festival. Actually, it’s not even a full day. That is one of the best moments of the festival since my freshman year.”
This hands-on aspect of festival planning is not just about physical labor; it’s about the sense of community and pride it creates among the organizers.
“Getting to see the students, especially just hand-building all the flooring, the side stages, the ceilings, building all of that is just such a sense of pride and accomplishment,” Lawall said. “I will never forget that morning of Movin’ On, my freshman year, and being like, ‘Oh my God! I just built this.’”
The impact Movin’ On has on the student experience has been clear, but the festival’s organizers have even bigger goals for the future.
“I want the festival to be like a staple of the Penn State experience. I want Movin’ On to be on that list, and I think it should be,” DiFrancesco said. “I think it’s an incredible experience. I know that it’s such a busy week and busy weekend for so many people, so I know we’re competing with a lot. But I want it to be like, ‘of course you got to go to Movin’ On.’”
Gates to the festival open at 3:30 p.m. Friday and it’s set to last until 10:30 p.m. at the IM Fields. Attendees must be 18 or older and have a valid Penn State student ID or government-issued ID to enter. For more information, visit www.movinon.org/festival.