Upcoming Pygmalion Music Festival to Have Over 75 Acts

Pygmalion Music Festival, one of Champaign-Urbana’s largest and most important events, is coming this September. With more than 75 acts, the festival will take place in nearly every corner of C-U, from small cafes to larger venues such as Krannert Center of the Performing Arts.
Founded in 2005 by Seth Fein, the festival has grown significantly and continues to change. This year, Pygmalion will not only be longer in length but will also contain shows made up of all-ages. High school students will be able to see many different concerts, specifically at Krannert Art Museum, Channing-Murray, Red Herring, Caffe Paradiso, and the big outdoor show behind Highdive on September 24th.
Fein said that making the show all ages will “Make sure the young people in C-U are able to see as many of the performances as possible.” On future plans for Pygmalion, Fein said he” Just wants to see it grow in the right ways.”
Students at Urbana High School are getting excited for the festival as well. Amy Graef, class of 2012, said, “I’m very excited for Pygmalion. It’s such a good opportunity to see bands that I love without having to go all the way out to Chicago. I think Pygmalion introduces up and coming Indie bands to people in our community who may not have known them otherwise”.
Tess Allen, also a senior at UHS said, “I think Pygmalion allows our college campus to have a musical opportunity they might not usually get, and it allows under-the-radar artists to get a little more recognition”.
For many students, like Elena Wentworth, this will be the first year they attend. Wentworth said, “It will be my first year attending any of the shows, which seems insane since such great music has been coming to our town for so many consecutive years now. I’m excited that the tickets are not very expensive at all and all of the shows are relatively close. It’s a great deal.”
As far as C-U’s future goals for Pygmalion, Fein said, “Bigger is not always better, and so my goals are not wrapped up in making it a situation where more and more people attend. Attendance is fine, really. I just want to see better artists come to perform and for the community to continue to feel a sense of pride and happiness for what something like Pygmalion can bring… That’s my goal, ultimately.”

Find more information, as well as tickets, go to pygmalionmusicfestival.com