A line formed outside the Maintenance Shop Friday while staff tried to manage a venue that had reached capacity.

The line formed around 8 p.m. when M-Shop staff started enacting a one-in, one-out policy. Those in line were waiting to get into KURE Fest, an annual free 2-day music festival hosted by student radio station KURE.

“I’ve been waiting here 30 minutes,” said Seth Clover, a sophomore majoring in software engineering and philosophy, while at the front of the line.  

This was the first time that KURE Fest, which has moved locations multiple times within the last 15 years, made its way back to the M-Shop since 2014. In the early 2010s, the festival was held solely in the M-Shop, but in 2015, the second day was moved into the Great Hall and in 2018, the entire festival was moved there.

KURE events director Reagan Demmon, a senior in animal ecology, said that the move back to the M-Shop was due to the size and style of the venue.

“We were looking for something a little more intimate and close,” Demmon said.

Attendees, as well as those closely involved with the festival, said that the M-Shop more closely aligns with KURE’s vibe. Better access to artists, more intimate lighting and sound, as well as the venue’s historical nature, were all reasons attendees and organizers said they liked the M-Shop more than the Great Hall.

“250 people in the Great Hall feels ok…but then you get 200 people in [the M-Shop] …the energy level is just that much higher,” said Darren Hushak, an Iowa state graduate and former KURE staff advisor. 

The energy was certainly high at KURE Fest this year, with mosh pits breaking out throughout the night. The M-Shop reached its most energetic moment when a cover of Smash Mouth’s “I’m a Believer” was performed by Minneapolis rock group Pullstring. The crowd broke out into a frenzy of twirling, stomping and head-banging.

“I think the [music] scene right now is in a really healthy spot,” said Hassein Rife, a former head M-Shop audio engineer, after the show.