Over the years, KURE Fest has brought local and national acts alike right here to Iowa State’s campus in a celebration of music and community. This year is no different, as the festival is bringing four diverse acts to the Great Hall of the Memorial Union in its eighth year of existence.

Jonny Green, KURE Fest Director, says that there is a lot more that goes into this festival than most realize, as he started planning for tonight’s event back in January.

In the past, KURE Fest has been a two night event with one night being held in the Maintenance Shop and the other in the Great Hall. However, this year the festival is cut down to one night only, which Green claims was caused by multiple factors.

“First off, it’s finding space in the Great Hall in the MU, which can be kind of tough because it can be booked out three years in advance by certain groups,” Green said.

Not only is there a battle for space when planning an event of this caliber, but funds and talent availability also impacts how and when this event occurs.

“It kind of comes down to cost, how much money we have on hand. It’s also about who’s available in terms of who we can bring in for artists,” Green said.

Another factor that played into the switch from two days to one was the date of the event and the busyness of this time of year.

“The original date was for late October, but we ended up switching to a different date and kind of going out on a limb,” Green said.

Green states that this date change was made based on when the festival was held in the past.

“Last year it was on the same day as Homecoming and Halloween, so we were sort of battling those things,” Green said. “[This year] we kind of wanted to make sure we were as far away from any sort of thing that could cut into potential audience.”

While KURE Fest is going to look a little different than it has in years past, it will still be accomplishing its goal of bringing immense talent to the Ames area.

“As a station, our goal is to make this a really community driven event. A big part of it is to make sure we feature some local bands, which we have two of this year,” Green said.

Green states that the festival also strives to ensure that this event is open to everyone, even those who are not students at Iowa State.

“It’s all-ages and open to the public … anyone can come,” Green said. “It’s free, you just walk right in.”

Not only does this festival bring the Ames community together for a night of local and national music acts, but it is an event that is held near and dear to the hearts of those who put it on. Green, a second-year KURE Fest director, is a senior in mechanical engineering who started off as a KURE DJ and eventually moved up to the position that he now holds.

“I’ve always enjoyed live music and I’ve been going to concerts for a really long time. Being on the other side of the show, actually planning and putting everything in place, has been a really fun process. [It’s] Very interesting to sort of get to know how the business works,” Green said.

Green’s involvement in this festival both fuels his love of music and gives him a break from the everyday stressors of school.

“[The festival] is completely unrelated to my school work and it’s kind of a distraction from usual day-to-day academic stuff,” Green said.

Green says that he is most looking forward to the festival’s headliner, Noname, but that all of the acts are worth seeing.

“I’d highly recommend that people check all of the acts out on Spotify or Youtube,” Green said. “They may not recognize them, but in my opinion, it’s a pretty diverse range of acts and hopefully there’s something there for everyone.”

As for those who are still debating whether or not they are going to attend KURE Fest this year, Green has one thing to say: “You’ve really got nothing to lose because it’s a free show. You’re losing money by not going!”