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Student Festival

By Adar

Somewhat similar to our Fall Fest and Spring Flings, the University of Haifa puts on a “Student Day” once a semester; hiring big name performers and DJs in between, handing out giveaways and t-shirts, and selling food and drinks. Our Student Day was last Monday; right before Shavuot, and I thought it would be fun to go.

I think I heard that there were about fifteen thousand people there, and I’m quite sure that seemed accurate. It was packed in an outdoor closed-off area, with a giant stage at the front and a sprawling grassy area where everyone stood. It was themed WhiteFest, probably for Shavuot, and the majority of people wore white. Looking out onto the crowd and seeing the same color on thousands of people made the atmosphere so much more collective, I think. The bands were not my absolute favorite, but we were all still happy to be there and dance until the small hours of the morning.

This past Wednesday and Thursday was the Technion’s two-day Student Festival extravaganza. The tickets were pricey for guests, but the artists were so much better. The Technion itself is a beautiful school and had its festival on-campus, unlike ours. Rachel and I managed to get all the way to the very front, and did not give up our spots for anything.

Israeli music is so diverse, and so important to young culture here. It has so many influences from all over the world, because people here have immigrated from all over and travel so much. Here are some of the artists we saw.

Ester Rada, an Ethiopian Israeli, who sings soul and has a gorgeous voice. I've seen her live twice now and am just blown away.

Balkan Beat Box is probably my favorite. They combine funky sounds, Middle Eastern instruments, Europe-Techno beats, Hebrew and English. We saw them live at the Technion

Eyal Golan is one of Israel's classic singers, with the warbles key to mizrachi or Eastern music, but singing in Hebrew about love and pain.

Infected Mushroom is an intense Israeli electronica band that has become huge here.

Asaf Avidan is another of my favorites, and we got to see him at the Technion.

Young Israelis are very much like GW students when it comes to a chance for a giant concert. They go in hoards. It's just this fun, big production that I am glad I didn't miss out on.