Belmont Students Take On Pilgrimage Festival

Pilgrimage Festival, Bree Fabbie

Belmont students were able to experience a music festival in their own backyard this past weekend.

Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival was held this in Franklin, Tennessee and headlined The Lumineers and Zach Bryan.

Temperatures got high throughout the weekend, and festival goers stood for hours in the heat for a good view of the night-time performers.

“There were a ton of people at the festival, so it was a little crazy, but it was an amazing time. The best part of the night for me was when Noah Kahan joined Zach Bryan on stage, it was such an awesome surprise,” sophomore Ellie Thompson said.

Saturday’s headliners, The Lumineers were introduced by comedian Theo Van who was also brought out earlier in the day by rock band, Better Than Ezra.

The Lumineers brought the energy during their close to two-hour set showing off their versatility as they frequently switched instruments.

“My favorite part was probably seeing the Lumineers or Better than Ezra, and just the culture and community of the festival. Everyone is so kind and all there as a community which is awesome,” said junior Kaitlin Putnam.

Zach Bryan was the Sunday headliner and was preceded by The War and Treaty, Luke Grimes, and Ashley McBryde.

All of the artists engaged the crowd and created an entertaining afternoon of music. A couple of the artists even mentioned their love for Zach Bryan on stage.

Bryan hit the stage and played for nearly two hours. Recently releasing a new album in August and dropping a surprise EP just last week, Bryan kept people guessing as to which songs he would play.

He sang a mix of older and new songs. However, fans seemed most excited for the guests who took the stage with him Sunday night.

The War and Treaty came back out to sing “Hey Driver,” Noah Kahan ran out to perform “Sarah’s Place” and Wesley Schultz and Jeremia Fraites of The Lumineers joined Bryan to sing “Spotless.”

It was the first time all these songs had been played live and while there were a couple of hiccups, they were unforgettable performances.

“The festival was really fun. They had a ton of vendors and locally sourced businesses showcased around the field. A ton of great food and drink options as well,” said sophomore Mason Bates.

“They had a lot of great artists who were super entertaining and sounded great live. Overall was a great festival.”

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This article was written by Bree Fabbie