As senior Jonathan Ayele looks forward to his third year at Soundset, he is most excited for the upbeat atmosphere.

“The energy and vibes (of Soundset) is my favorite part, since everyone is as excited as you are to be there and everyone’s super happy and pumped which is like most music festivals in general,” Ayele said.“My favorite part is seeing the artist that I came there for, meeting new people and getting to experience Soundset with my closest friends.”

Soundsets chief operating officer (COO) Jason Cook said Soundset, which is the biggest one-day Hip-Hop music festival in the world, is built around the idea of supporting local artists.

“This is a Minnesota based festival started here in our own city,” Cook said. “The music is also heavily locally curated, so it’s not just bigger national artists. You can see the local heroes on stage as well.”

Freshman April Callahan said music influences her in a positive way and she looks forward to Soundset because she enjoys the music being played there.

“Music is a big part of my life and it’s what gets me through the day,” Callahan said. “Some of my favorite rappers and bands are going to be there and I want to see them live.”

According to Callahan, even if they’re hesitant to go, the atmosphere of the whole festival will make people feel comfortable and welcomed.

“It’s a lot of fun, even if you don’t know who is playing. It’s still a great experience, and I think if you have the chance you should definitely go,” Callahan said.

Cook said this year’s lineup has a wide range of various artists.

“You can see anyone from Atmosphere to ASAP Rocky to Anderson .Paak to Lizzo. The lineup is diverse and has something for everyone,”Cook said.

According to Ayele, Soundset is a great experience for people that want to hear new music or educate themselves on new music in the area.
“From my knowledge, they have multiple, local artists perform there every year which is cool to me, helping them get their name out more and just something I haven’t seen at another festival,” Ayele said.

Soundset takes place 11 a.m. May 29 at The Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Since Soundset expects around 30,000 people to attend, they recommend arriving at 6:00 a.m. Current ticket prices start at $78.