Misty weather was no match for Middlebury student creatives, who filled the campus with musical, visual and experimental arts on April 27 at Nocturne, an annual campus-wide art festival.
Stepping outside of my building on Saturday night, I was met with a campus aglow: shimmering lamps and colorful string lights and small art installations were strewn from the top of Chapel Hill to the lawn in front of Davis Library. A live rendition of The Eagles’ “Hotel California” echoed under a low-hanging veil of clouds as a breeze shook white petals from the nearby Magnolia tree.
The threat of rain drove many performances indoors and necessitated the use of tarps and tents to shield outdoor exhibits. Adapting to that night’s weather was a community effort, according to Nocturne organizer and treasurer Lily Buren ’26.
“We sent out a text saying, ‘Hey, if anyone can come to the Gamut Room and help us last-minute brainstorm a rain schedule, that would be amazing,’ and everyone came!” she said.
Before the drizzle set in, I made my way down towards Davis Family Library where two students — one sporting a white ski mask and navy suit jacket — were auctioning off various items to a crowd gathered on the steps outside. I watched as a decorative dorm “CAUTION” sign was traded for a Bobbi Brown lip gloss (this beat out a cigarette and a single Tic-Tac).
Then, I was drawn in by a brassy and ethereal voice, coming from McCullough Terrace where Sammy Jo Serell ’27.5 and the rest of Feband (Owen Kelliher ’27.5, Aidan Brennan ’26.5, Maya Henning ’25) performed Journey’s “Separate Ways” under a tent. This early on in the night, as spirits were still rising, the crowd that gathered calmly swayed and nodded along to the music, with the exception of a small cluster of more rowdy dancers closer to the “stage.”
Minutes later, I stopped by the Chapel, where several installations had found shelter from the rain. Out front, JusTalks had set up a table for community painting and discussion. Inside, Yarn and Yap – a knitting/crocheting club – had displayed their first creation: an “ever-growing blanket” made up of individually knitted and crocheted squares that had then been stitched together. Closer to the chancel sat an installation called Bead Tree. Beaded necklaces were strung from the banisters under which posters on the floor read “draw and write; grab some beads.”
At 8:05 p.m., I squeezed myself into the Gamut Room where the Manganesians (Luke Parkerson ’26.5, Lincoln Pierce ’26.5, Alistair Nalle ’26.5, Nick Brodie ’27.5) were playing “Say It Ain’t So” by Calpurnia. This performance was followed up by Mt. Joy’s “Silver Lining,” during which the band showcased some sweet, folksy vocals amidst perhaps overly harsh instrumentals. Once the crowd brought to the band’s attention that bassist and vocalist Alister Nalle’s microphone was turned off, his voice pleasantly rounded out a cover of “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees.
I later caught the end of The Hero and The Waitress (Catherine Kish ’24, Peyton Mader ’24, Kai Fukuda ’23.5, Jon Jon March ’23.5, Eli Richardson ’24, Daniel Allen ’24.5) graceful cover of “Closer to Fine” by Indigo Girls, before heading inside to Wilson Cafe. There, at around 8:30 p.m., the improv group Middlebrow performed Mundaneprov and spent some fifteen minutes committed to an insensitive “carrot-farming” concept. The show proceeded to deftly transition between topics like Taylor Swift and divorce law.
The exquisitely dressed Dr. College USA (Eliza Cleary ’24.5, Rowan Cleary ’27, Jacob Bradley ’24, Jude Seo ’24.5, Brett Sorbo ’24.5, Nora Brown ’24) started their set in Wilson Hall around 9:00 p.m. They performed crooning parodies of songs like an investment banking-based version of The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down,” and showed off the especially sharp lyrics like, “I’ll start wearing a pantsuit and learn how to do the hot girl walk” and “When I am a strategic brand consultant, I’ll have everything I want.”
Thirty minutes later, both Wilson Cafe and the Grille were packed with people waiting to watch a sneak-peak of RIDDIM dance troupe’s upcoming spring performance. The cafe’s stage was a bit small for the group’s purposes, leaving the members squished but nonetheless able to captivate the audience with a brief teaser.
Along the busiest walk of the night, between McCullough and the Gamut Room, passersby stopped to take in Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)’s ‘die-in.’ Participants lay silently under a tree on top of tarps and reused trash bags. Beside them sat a sign that read, “We are alive – 33,000 are dead.” In the words of organizer Islam Abushareah ’26.5, SJP meant to “call on the attention of all Middlebury students to keep talking about Palestine,” especially as students from universities like Columbia, Emory, and UT Austin “face substantial administrative repression.”
At 9:53 p.m., Trail Magic (Ian Nolan ’24.5, Quinn Donaldson ’26.5, Orion Christian ’26.5, Aidan Brennan ’26.5) began their set in the Gamut Room with “The Gym” by Wolves of Glendale. Next was a soulful rendition of Noah Kahan’s “Dial Drunk” followed by two lovely original songs. Standing in the crowd felt like being surrounded by reincarnations of Demi Lovato in the classic Disney Channel movie “Camp Rock,” hearing again and again, “[They’re] really good!”
Brennan later told me that the rotating nature of the performance (members switched instruments in between tracks) is an integral element of the band’s communal character. “Usually we are a WOMP [Wednesday Open Mic Party] band (we play every week) so to play in our normal venue but have it filled to the gills with cheering lovely music-enjoyers brought so much energy to our performance,” Brennan said.
At 10:30 p.m., I found myself back in Wilson Hall. I walked in to see Charlie Grossman ’27 of Birdman Bounces (alongside June Su ’27) clad in a graduation gown and papier-mâché wings at the very end of their set, an earnest and elegant piece of “performance art consisting of poetry and electronic music.”
A mammoth crowd gathered as the last performer of the night, Backyard Jams (Keegan Gilsenan ’25, Xander Bowles ’26, John Burdett ’26, Levi Goldberg ’26.5, Jin Lee ’25), set up on stage. Playing hits like “Can’t Stop” by Red Hot Chili Peppers and a “Don’t Let Me Down” reprise, the band wowed with excellent instrumentals and stunning vocals from Curran Amster ’26. Most compelling, however, was the members’ chemistry and practiced mental synchrony. The group’s collegiate cool balanced with a clear attentiveness to one another to give the performance a memorable charm.
The festival ended in the chapel with music and an original video from Faith Wood ’24.5 titled “Creating is Liberating” (featuring Corinne Lowmanstone ’24.5, Wolf Moller ’24.5, Diana Cortez ’24, Olivia Dixon ’24, Ella Bode ’24, Mira Ward ’24, Natalie Penna ’24, Marissa Lewis ’24, Tanya Chen ’24, Victoria Shuster ’25 and Matthew Gamez ’25).
“I wanted to use my last Nocturne at Middlebury to reflect back the beauty I see in people when they're doing what they love — whether that be crocheting, skating, jumping in the gorge, or even just vibin’ out to their favorite song — through doing what I love, filming,” Woods said.
The night was a testament to both Middlebury as a community — passionate and creative, even when at odds with one another — as well as art itself. It was a reminder that art, its creation and enjoyment, is rarely singular. It is felt most powerfully, most prolifically, with others.
