When spirited concertgoers are thrusting their bodies on stage and sloppily jumping alongside STRFKR, an indie-pop band made of colorful, sweater-laden characters, during their cover of “Girls Just Wanna Fun,” one of two scenarios is taking place: either the undulation of a wildly fun performance has started to peak, or, as a result of a disastrous show, boisterous hipsters have found more entertaining ways to roughhouse.

Fortunately, the former was the case at last Saturday’s KXSC Fest, a music-and-arts festival organized by USC’s student-run radio station.
 
From electronica to punk to music that prompted the crowd to bust a move, the line-up for KXSC Fest incorporated a carefully crafted mash-up of artists and genres, fit to capture the unadulterated essence of L.A.’s music scene.
 
As more than a thousand music-enthusiasts begin to fill EF Hutton Park, a quaint and knobby field at the center of campus, various vendors, art groups (equipped with a button-making machine and a wide array of stamps for crafts), and food trucks were on hand to provide solace and provisions for anyone who wanted to take a breather from the mid-sized mosh-pit that initiated sometime during the middle of the show.
 
Playing the first half of the festival was a relatively strong bill of bands that included popular USC student act, Fiore, the cheeky, surf-rock sounds of Gothic Tropic, and Orange County-based garage punk band, TRMRS, that adequately encapsulated the spirit of skate culture during their shortened 20 min. set. DJ sets from KXSC and Dublab, a local web radio station entertained the crowd in between each performance.
 
By the time a local favorite rock band, White Fence showed up to the party, the crowd, which had more than doubled in size, was on their feet and bopping their heads to the brash and melodic tracks of the group.
 
Nosaj Thing, the moniker of the soft-spoken and stoic beat smith, Jason Chung, entranced the crowd with his cerebral and stirring performance. Through his swift mannerisms on the mixer, Nosaj Thing had everyone collectively swaying to the rhythm of his arrangements.
 
Closing the show was STRFKR, an unapologetic, outlandish band hailing from Portland. With more synthesized dancebeats than a New Wave themed party, STRFKR was an admirable choice to cap off an outrageously fun concert.
 
In its fourth year, KXSC Fest has proved that not only can a college radio station composed of volunteers organize a show that catered to both students and the surrounding community; they can also produce a damn good one at that.

Reach Reporter Candice here.