Scott Barnes
Staff Writer
Major Lazer performed during last year’s Pygmalion Festival in downtown Champaign. The annual festival expects to have an additional night of outdoor performances during the event from Thursday, Sept. 25 to Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014
The upcoming Pygmalion Festival will be celebrating its ten year anniversary, and this year’s
event promises to be exceptional. Pygmalion will take place in Champaign–Urbana from
Thursday, Sept. 25 to Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. The event will feature a variety of both local and
national acts, such as CHVRCHES, American Football, Real Estate, Elsinore, Bones Jugs &
Harmony and many more.
“We’re as excited as we’ve ever been to present The Pygmalion Festival,” Founder of Pygmalion,
Seth Fein, commented. “We expect attendance to set records.”
If you have attended the festival in past years, and are already familiar with Pygmalion, you
can expect to see some changes this time around. The event promises to raise the bar this year
by featuring more relevant artists in a number of quality venues. These venues include The
Krannert Center, The Krannert Art Museum, and Canopy Club in Urbana, as well as Mike N’
Molly’s, Memphis On Main, Cowboy Monkey, and various other places around downtown
Champaign.
“In particular, I am excited to see Sun Kil Moon in Krannert Center, alongside Panda Bear,” Fein
added. “Two of my very favorites in one perfect venue. I suppose, in the end, that’s why we do
what we do.”
Head of Development for Pygmalion, Patrick Singer, explained that this year the festival will
feature two full days of outdoor shows in Champaign, as opposed to only one day in 2013.
This will allow for more club shows to happen alongside those outdoor shows, as well as all
throughout downtown Champaign. Having the festival set up in this manner will give the people
that attend more opportunities to catch a show.
“As far as the music goes, we’re very excited about the lineup of artists that are coming through
to Champaign-Urbana for the festival,” Singer said. “I am thrilled that we’re hosting the first
proper American Football show in 15 years.”
Two outdoor stages will be set up in downtown Champaign, and will be located behind The High
Dive, as they were last year. Fans that want to see these shows up close and personal will need
to purchase tickets to get through the gates. General admission full festival passes, as well as
individual day passes are available online.
Over the years this festival has grown tremendously, and in its tenth year, it will spread widely
across the C–U area. The event will offer a lot to the communities that host it. The Pygmalion
Festival will definitely bring a lot of live music to the area, but that is not all.
In conjunction with the music, Pygmalion also features a Literary Festival, as well as Made Fest.
According to the festival’s website, Made Fest is a two-day, curated, en plein air marketplace
featuring handmade and vintage sellers.
“The Made Fest will also expand to two days this year,” Singer explained. “It will feature
roughly twice as many vendors as a marketplace for handmade artists, makers, and vintage
sellers.”
Singer explained that Pygmalion’s Literary Festival component will also expand to feature more
authors in 2014, plus a full-on book fair at the Esquire Lounge on Saturday afternoon.
If you are a student looking for a break from the monotony of school work, the last weekend of
September is a perfect opportunity for you. Whether you are looking to have a few drinks and
check out some great bands, meet one of your favorite authors, or purchase some local art for
your new apartment, the Pygmalion Festival has you covered. A lot of festivals come and go
throughout the school year, but most won’t be as large as this one.
If you are interested in attending the festival, you can find out more info and purchase tickets
online at www.thepygmalionfestival.com.
