Student-run Redfest supports local charities with help of live music
Jacob Adams (right), a senior at Le Moyne College, strums his guitar while performing alongside his other bandmates. Adams is part of goth and emo band Prometheus, which performed at Redfest. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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UPDATE: This story was updated at 6:37 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2026.
Rain pooled on the plywood stage as SUNY ESF students shuffled between tents, clutching their drinks. The sound of a guitar rang through the gray afternoon.
A crowd gathered anyway, moving closer as the next band set up, some dancing in the mud, others ducking under tents to avoid getting wet from the rain.
Why? Because it’s Redfest.
“I think no matter how terrible the weather is, I’ll always come to Redfest,” ESF senior Jordan Samuelson said at Saturday’s event.
Samuelson considers Redfest a consistent part of her college years, attending the fundraiser almost every year at ESF. Saturday this year’s Redfest, an outdoor student-run music festival hosted by ESF students. This year’s lineup included the headliner, Rochester-based Jerry Big’s World Famous Band, alongside Hydrogen, PROM, Dat Boi Joshy, Eternal September, Prometheus and DJ Troy Conner.
Redfest takes place in the backyard of two houses near Syracuse University’s campus on Redfield Place, and serves as both a live music showcase and a fundraiser. The proceeds went to Families for Lead Freedom Now and the Syracuse Immigrant Refugee Defense Network this year.
Even with the rainy weather, attendees still danced along to the bands that performed at Redfest. The music festival takes place in the backyards of the organizers’ homes in Redfield Place. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
This is the second year the festival has donated proceeds to Families for Lead Freedom Now. Last year, ESF senior and Redfest organizer Faraz Lotfi was drawn to the charity after his environmental justice professor brought the nonprofit’s treasurer to speak to his class.
The organizers, a group of 13 friends living in Redfest’s neighborhood, also settled on SIRDN as a second charity this year after putting out a poll to the friend group. They chose SIRDN in light of the rise in the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in central New York, Lotfi said.
Now, all of the friends are seniors, and they feel bittersweet about their last Redfest.
“It’s been the 15th year at this location, and it’s also all of our last ones for the most part. We wanted it to be the best one that, at least we’ve ever experienced,” Dominic Colucci, an ESF senior and one of the 13 organizers, said.
From booking the event, working with the bands directly and drawing on his ESF Music Society connections to secure performers, Colucci has helped shape the festival’s lineups since his freshman year. But this year, the process of finding bands to perform was more challenging with fewer live music opportunities to secure talent, Colucci said.
However, this year’s lineup spanned music genres — from hardcore rock to indie — and included a mix of returning performers, like PROM and Hydrogen, and new talent like Prometheus.
Prometheus’ guitarist Jacob Adams, a senior who’s attended Redfest since his freshman year at Le Moyne College, played in Redfest for the first time on Saturday. Finally, the band achieved its longtime goal of performing in Redfest.
A bassist of Prometheus performs at the 15th annual Redfest music festival. Other performances included Jerry Big’s World Famous Band, Hydrogen and PROM. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
Beyond booking, Lotfi said much of the work involved adapting to unpredictable conditions and managing logistics. Lotfi focused on coordinating vendors, supplies and infrastructure, ensuring that the event could operate despite rain and changing conditions.
That started with finding a tent to keep everyone dry.
“Trying to get a tent was the biggest challenge because if you don’t have a good tent that can survive weather conditions, everything falls apart,” Lotfi said.
The festival also featured vendors selling handmade goods, including woodwork, jewelry and clothing accessories. One of Saturday’s vendors, ESF senior Nico Pamas, sold handmade trail signs that he made in his basement — the first time his work was sold at Redfest. Each plaque is handmade, handwritten, stained and painted by Pamas.
“I’ve had it as a hobby for a while, but you can only make so many for yourself. So it’s kind of an excuse to just be in my basement and do a little woodwork,” Pamas said.
Despite being outside in the rain, attendees moved between the stage and vendor tents all day. Organizers like Lotfi consider that support from attendees for the bands, vendors and charities as Redfest’s ultimate goal — one that was achieved Saturday.
“It’s just a cool way to bond,” Lotfi said. “I like throwing parties because I like seeing familiar faces and all my friends together having a good time.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misspelled Faraz Lotfi’s last name. The previous version also described this Sunday’s Redfest as the event’s 15th edition. This is the 15th year at this location, but the festival has been running longer. The Daily Orange regrets these errors.
