By Talia Dennis

Student Entertainment Events hosted its ninth annual Terpstock event April 8, which featured rapper Milo, alternative-indie group Shaed and three student groups.

Rapper Noname was initially scheduled to perform at the music festival, but was unable to to attend “due to illness,” according to a SEE Facebook post from that morning.

Junior marketing and finance double major Ben Ramey said his friends from home decided not to attend Terpstock when they heard Noname would not be performing.

The event was free for students, faculty and staff from this university.

By the time Terpstock started at 3 p.m., Shaed was added to the lineup and an updated version of the set list with times each performer was scheduled to appear was posted on the UMD group’s page.

Terpstock is usually held in the Nyumburu Ampitheater, but was moved to the Grand Ballroom inside Stamp.

“I wasn’t sure how it would be inside,” said sophomore public relations major Hailey Anchor. “Because it is cold, I prefer it.”

Anchor said Terpstock 2017 was a nice “intro to spring” because it was warm enough to be held outside.

“[SEE] did a good job salvaging it,” said Jeff Davis, a junior physics major, noting the change in venue and last-minute cancellation from co-headliner Noname.

“Everyone’s having a good time,” he said.

Archit Gupta, a sophomore neurobiology and physiology major said this was the first Terpstock event he attended.

He said he was surprised by the “great quality” and said the “atmosphere is decent.”

“My only criticism is the wooden floor and I wish the decor was more interesting,” Gupta said.

The Grand Ballroom was set up with large black cushions dispersed around the room for the audience to sit on. Terpstock goers were also permitted to bring chairs and blankets to sit on.

Vocalist for Shaed Chelsea Lee said the feeling in the room was like a “sleepover.”

The room was lit with stage lights and some light that flooded in from the hallway.

Before Shaed and Milo performed, three student acts were given 40 minutes to sing, rap and share their music. They were the runners-up in SEE’s Battle of the Bands event last month.

Joe Garner and The Produce Section opened the event, playing indie-rock music and a cover of “Dancing in the Moonlight.” He was followed by student rapper aj iaN and syl who had an indie-pop-rock tone.

“It’s really cool to see university students doing cool things with their voices,” Lee said in between songs.

Gupta and Khanna said they came to Terpstock specifically to see Milo.

“He’s very interesting,” said Gupta. “He’s very different. He’s a rapper but different from other rappers.”

Khanna said he agreed and added that Milo has a huge vocabulary and described him as an “Ivy-League type.”

Milo attended St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and studied philosophy before he dropped out to pursue his passion for music.

“I think it really hurt my feelings when I found [out St. Norbert College] was a big company in my own college experience,” he said in an interview before his performance.

He said he recently opened a record intake shop in Biddeford, Maine, called Soulfolks Records.

The rapper spent part of his childhood growing up in Maine and said he still loves the state today.

“My favorite part about Maine is the people who still talk to you, even if they think you’re weird,” he said.

During his performance, he asked the audience if it was their first rap show.

“It must be because you’re all sitting down.” he said.

By the end of his next song, most of the attendees crowded by the stage.

He said he created most of his own beats that he was using during the performance. He performed for about an hour before the event ended at 7 p.m.

“Milo was impressive — good performance, good atmosphere,” said senior computer science major Ben Aronson. “It felt intimate when he was talking to the crowd.”

Many students who attended Terpstock had overall positive comments about the event and were impressed by SEE’s ability to adapt to last-minute shake-ups.

Vince Staples and Lil Yachty will headline SEE’s next concert, Art Attack XXXV, on May 4.

Featured Photo Credit: Milo performs at University of Maryland’s Terpstock on April 8th, 2018 (Lisa Woolfson/Bloc Photographer)

Talia Dennis is a sophomore journalism major and history major and can be reached at tdennis1@terpmail.umd.edu.