On the evening of April 26, the arrival of the annual student-run arts festival, Nocturne, coincided with weather characteristic of April; heavy gusts and dark clouds hung over Middlebury, leading organizers to implement the event’s rain schedule. Set across four buildings, the event lived up to its sensational reputation despite it all, drawing students from all corners of campus to experience a night of electrifying performances and art installations.
The majority of live performances were staged in Wilson Hall, the Café stage in the Grille, the Gamut Room in Gifford Hall and the Chapel. Axinn housed interactive exhibits, such as fortune telling by writers for the Local Noodle and stationary pieces. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)’s “A Legacy of Resistance: In Tribute to Martyrs,” honored victims of Israel’s genocide on Gaza.
A small number of exhibits were kept outside despite the threat of unpleasant weather. Among them was an interactive display for SNEG’s (Sunday Night Environmental Group) Thermal Energy Network campaign. At 6:55 p.m, on my first stop of the night, I came across the exhibit, marked by a small Carrollian cardboard sign reading, “Walk through me!” The narrow octagonal pergola beside it — with words like ‘resist,’ ‘renew,’ and ‘future’ painted on its canvas curtain — led to a lined path. I was halfway to the end of the path before I realized that the area about my knees was being warmed by part of the underground heating system running through green.
Ella Powers ’27, the leader of the project, explained how it came to fruition.
“I mapped out one of the main underground steam pipes that transports heat around campus and made people think about the future potential for a more sustainable alternative like thermal energy networks,” they said.
I spent the next 30 minutes wandering McCullough, where I found Elena Parietti ’27.5’s “Collage Corner,” an at times highly acerbic, and at others contemplative but consistently sharp collection of multimedia pieces. One piece titled “Bittersweet Success” meditated on “the mixed emotions that come with growing up as a woman and achieving academic success and emotional maturity while leaving behind childhood.” A particular favorite consisted simply of a Soul condom wrapper, on top of which laid a single clear marble. The title beside it read, “haha, get it?”
Next, I made my way up the hill (cookie in my hand, courtesy of Weybridge house’s display, “Prepare & Rejoice”) to the Chapel, where I caught the tail end of Swagonometry’s house music set. Neon lights flashed through the dark and spun across the pews. Bass thumped. Psychedelic visuals played on the projector at the altar. From where I perched in the southern wing, watching the otherwise tepid, sparsely populated scene below, I was reminded of that one kid in “The Incredibles” who is perpetually waiting for, “something amazing, I guess.” Leaning over the bannister, I finally spotted the only person in the room dancing – this man was moving through the aisle with the flexibility of a red inflatable humanoid and the vigor of the Energizer Bunny. I found myself arrested, for the next ten minutes, by his rhythmic, agile, and passionate expression in a place where it stood singular.
At 7:54 p.m. I entered Axinn, passing a table where Norah Khan ’27 and Sharon Kotei ’27 were challenging students to answer trivia questions while eating hot wings. “Warm Ones,” as they called it, was inspired by Sean Evans’s Youtube series “Hot Ones”.
Finding myself slightly overwhelmed by the swarms waiting to have their faces painted or their palm lines traced, I followed the sound of a sweet piano melody coming from room 232. Inside, I found the space practically empty, and completely dark, save for the light leaking in the windows from nearby streetlamps. There, Scott Young, a member of the custodial staff, tenderly plunked out an original song called “I’ll Never Be Alone.” Including myself, four people stood and sat, entranced by the music. Young’s wife, who encouraged him to explore his interest in composing, recently passed. This song was dedicated to her.
Twenty minutes later, I sat at a table overlooking the stage in the Grille and watched as OSM Music completed their soundcheck while an audience trickled in through the door downstairs. From here, I was perfectly positioned to take in the band’s graceful rendition of Emmylou Harris’s “Bury Me Beneath the Willow”. I also watched as one especially light-footed student led a considerably sized crowd in a simple line dance in the floorspace below.
At 8:40 p.m. I passed by a member of the Cockroach Circus as they adjusted their stilts on my way inside Wilson Hall. The show followed a band of cockroaches from a post-apocalyptic Earth as they explored their ‘Theories of Defeation’ with which they would combat the comically antagonistic Exterminator (who exploited the cockroach population for their eggs in order to fuel his rocketship to Mars). The piece — a result of collaborative script-writing and improvisation — took inspiration from Jenny Hozer’s collection of “Truisms” and “The Roach Manifesto” by the Museum of Everyday Life.
“Long live cockroach kind. We love salt and brass music," said Charlotte Roberts ’25, who helped to design and starred in the performance.
At 9:26 p.m., seated on the floor of the Gamut room, awaiting the start of Erectile Function’s set, I was driven out with the crowd by the blaring of an ill-timed fire alarm in Gifford hall. Thirteen minutes later, after some rude but light-hearted shouts by audience members and the determination by Public Safety that it was safe to return inside, Thomas Long ’25 kicked off the band’s performance, announcing, “We’re gonna get very erect tonight.” Amidst a couple of rousing Billy Joel covers, the a cappella performance of “Bones in the Ocean” stunned with chillingly beautiful vocals.
Erectile Function was followed by Adonai and His Angels. Frontman Adonai Haile ’27’s dreamy voice led covers of popular 60/70’s songs by artists like Elton John, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye.
Before the night’s much awaited finale, I made sure to catch Backyard Jams’ performance on the Wilson Hall Stage. They performed, to the thrill of the large crowd, familiar favorites such as the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie,” and “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (a throwback to last year’s set).
At 11:48 p.m. I watched as crowds marched up Chapel Hill to see the closing show by the all-senior and much-beloved band, Soop Spoons. Classic covers of theirs, like “The Weight” by the Band and “Charleston Girl” by Tyler Childers delighted the animated audience, who filled the Chapel and crowded the landing in front of the altar, belting out to every song all the while.
“Performing with Soop Spoons at the midnight event was something [the band has] been dreaming about since freshman year,” vocalist and banjo player Samantha-Grey Solomon ’25 told me. “We were so overwhelmed and excited by the roar of the Chapel that night. Soop Spoons ending is easily one of the hardest things about leaving Middlebury.”
Editor's Note: Norah Khan ’27 is an Arts & Culture Editor for The Campus. Soop Spoons member Tulip Larson ’25 is an Arts & Culture Editor for The Campus. President of Nocturne Ellie Trinkle ’26 is the Senior Arts & Culture Editor.
