During its three years, Under Canvas has quickly been integrated into the St Andrews’ calendar. This should probably not be too surprising as the event has continued to offer great musical acts in an unpretentious and fun atmosphere. There is no VIP or other unpleasant segregation, and everyone’s main concern is to have a good time. Unlike many other events, I get the impression that people attend Under Canvas because they genuinely enjoy the experience rather than for the sake of just saying that they were there.

This year’s event definitely held to the expected standards. When I first learned that it had been moved to Lower College Lawn – I was quite skeptical. I felt that the concept of Under Canvas was strongly connected to its previous location of St Mary’s Quad, but I was proven wrong. It managed to keep its intimate feeling to it by concentrating the tents to a smaller part of the lawn. It thereby distinguished itself from other events hosted at the same location, such as Starfields. Instead of being reduced to just another event at Lower College Lawn, Under Canvas felt like a real micro-festival as there was a continuous flow between the larger stage, the smaller Music Is Love stage and STAR’s tiny disco tent.

Most importantly, this year’s bookings were good. First out of the bands, Wovoka Gentle delivered a fantastic performance. It was the band’s first official concert and they provided the audience with an experimental music experience that almost felt physical.  Besides the joy of seeing very skilled musicians preform,  Wovoka Gentle also engage with the audience in a mesmerizing way through body language and facial expressions. The only improvement would have been if the sound could have been as good as the band. However, it is sure to say that the people who missed the first band truly missed out. The second band was New Carnival and their spirited pop attracted new arrivers to the dance floor.  The audience bounced with the band’s enthusiastic tunes and covers such as ‘I Will Survive’ were very well received by the audience. New Carnival was the perfect booking for getting people excited for the evening.

The two bands were followed by DJ acts. Soulpatch, a personal favorite, was first out. Unfortunately, their time was cut very short. As I made detour out to the Music is Love stage to see some of the live performances, I almost missed their performance completely.  However, the short time I managed to enjoy Soulpatch, the beats were as groovy as ever. Next up was Horse Meet Disco and they offered energetic and funky dance music. The disco genre is often missing at St Andrew’s events, and it felt refreshing to get an hour of disco revival featuring drum machines and synthesizers. After the Horse Meet experience, the Dutch producer and DJ Mike Mago stepped on. His more commercial dance music served well as the last act. Both for people filled with energy as well as those whose legs and arms were tired – it was easy to move with Mago’s catchy music.

All in all, Under Canvas 2015 was a great event. It felt unique and had good bookings. Music Is Love’s smaller stage was a great addition this year and I hope it becomes incorporated into the Under Canvas concept. I also thought it was nice that the event took place later in the semester this year as the night feels quite chilly as soon as you leave the dance floor. A shout out to next year’s committee would be to have equally good bookings; however, to look over their gender balance. Events in St Andrews tend to book men as their main acts, but since Under Canvas are offering a more special experience, why not step it up a notch?

Anyways, see you at Under Canvas next year!