A$AP Ferg told women in the audience at The Wetlands Music Festival, who he called “Florida’s finest,” to get up on the shoulders of men near them. Event staff told them to get down.
“You all know how to mosh pit?” Ferg asked the crowd. “You’re alligators. You’ve got to know how to surf.”
The rapper was the main headliner at the first annual music festival by Student Government Productions. Saint Motel and Snakehips also performed Sunday on Flavet Field.
Ferg was paid $65,000 to perform, while Snakehips was paid $35,000 and Saint Motel was paid $40,000, according to archives.
Keri Shapiro, the SGP chief of staff, said as of Friday, SGP sold more than 1,800 tickets, which cost $15 for students and $30 for non-students. As of press time, organizers had not counted how many tickets were sold at the gate.
Saint Motel performed first at about 5:30 p.m. The crowd grew until Ferg performed three hours later.
The event included a seven-band lineup of local and national talent, which performed on two stages, “We wanted to diversify the genres of the different talents and give an opportunity for local talents to perform as well,” Shapiro, a 21-year-old UF advertising senior, said.
The event also featured eight food options, including PDQ and Cilantro Taco, and 17 activity and club booths. Among the booths was a “silent disco,” where attendees could listen through headphones to music DJs playing in front of them, and a table for the Wetlands Club, a UF club dedicated to cleaning and preserving wetlands and coastlines.
A/J Jackson, Saint Motel’s lead singer, walked onto the stage with a Gator flag draped over his neck before his set began. During his performance, Jackson told concertgoers to Gator Chomp to the beat of “Puzzle Pieces.”
He ended the band’s set by thanking the student organizers and telling the crowd “it’s great to be a Gator.”
While Snakehips deejayed on Flavet Field’s stage, roughly 1,000 people passed a six-foot alligator pool float and an inflated three-foot-tall condom.
Cullen Bryant and two friends drove nearly 70 miles from Jacksonville to hear their favorite indie-pop band, Saint Motel.
The 21-year-old looked out into the crowd and said more people should have attended to hear national performers on campus.
“We saw (Saint Motel) a little while ago and loved it. We knew we had to make the trip to see them again,” Bryant said.
Shapiro said organizers expected 3,000 attendees.
“This was the first Wetlands concert,” Shapiro said. “We’re hoping it will continue in the future.”
Contact Robert Lewis at rlewis@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @Lewis__Robert.
A group of students dance at a "Silent Disco" held during The Wetlands Music Festival on Sunday. The event featured headlining artist A$AP Ferg, food trucks, an art walk and other activities.
