The first First Thursday of the academic year festivities will kick off from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Arts Plaza in front of the IU Auditorium. The event will showcase local bands and musicians as well as festival booths that will introduce you to Bloomington's arts scene.
At the beginning of each fall semester, the IU Arts and Humanities Council presents a First Thursday Festival, a series of outdoor festivals held on the first Thursday of September, October and November.
The event will feature mainstage performances from Clint Breeze and The Groove, The Jacobs School of Music's Electric Guitar Orchestra, Six Foot Blonde and Leraldo Anzaldua, assistant professor in the department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance.
In the past, the festival has featured opera, break-dancing and stage-fighting performances, according to the IU Arts and Humanities Council’s webpage.
“This event is all about celebrating the creative spirit of the campus,” Ed Comentale, director of the Arts and Humanities Council, said. “I think now more than ever, it's important to reconnect as a community in a positive way.”
There will also be second stage performances from The Women of Delta, instrumentalists Sam Bartlett and Lucy Annable, and hymn and gospel artists Rev. Dennis Freeman and Mark Duerson.
Three students from the Jacobs School of Music — Kieran Brown, Abhik Mazumde and Solomon Keim — will also be featured during the second stage performances.
The performances at the festival will incorporate an array of music genres including jazz, gospel, rock and alternative music.
Due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns, students are required to wear masks around festival booths and other crowded areas.
