Lexington venues host three-day music festival

By Caleb Oakley

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Cigarette smoke and byproduct from a fog machine mingled in the air.

Tattooed and pierced music lovers chattered outside Al’s Bar.

Two individuals wearing suspenders and facial hair snapped pictures of dancing attendees holding WRFL signs, while others passed around a horse mask.

All these individuals were present to kick off Boomslang weekend, a three day music and art festival that features a parade of local and national talent.

Organized by WRFL 88.1, Radio Free Lexington, UK’s student radio station, the festival celebrated its fifth year.

Concerts took place at multiple venues, including Natasha’s Bistro and Bar, Cosmic Charlie’s and Al’s, and featured about 40 performances.

Friday, Natasha’s hosted several artists, including Los Angeles based vocal performer Chelsea Wolfe.

“I love when people come to concerts to actually listen to music,” Wolfe said.

Saturday at Al’s, a stream of bands gathered on stage, and local favorite Idiot Glee kept the party rolling.

“Potty Mouth and Idiot Glee were my favorites, but they were all great” said Christian Honican, a UK graduate student in the department of Modern and Classical Languages.

Queerslang performed at Cosmic Charlie’s on Saturday, while electronic dance DJs spun their records in quirky costumes across the stage.

Half of the venue piled out of Cosmic Charlie’s for a break later that night, but returned in full force for The Blow.

UK student Nicole Lannertone said lead singer Khaela Maricich had a unique style of dance and lyrics.

Boomslang ended its celebration at Embrace Sanctuary with a performance of Doomslang.

Students and bands alike rocked out through fog and smoke during the three-day celebration of all things art and music.

Chrystina Powers, double major in French and Francophone Studies, said “This was the most fun I’ve had dancing since Beaux Arts.”