Friday, April 10, golden sunshine, rhythmic guitars and happy chatter filled the Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre at Lake Matoaka during the College of William and Mary’s annual Woodstock music festival. The event was hosted by the Sigma Pi fraternity and TribeTHON in a collaborative effort to support their shared philanthropic partner, the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va.
“TribeTHON is William and Mary’s chapter of Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon. We are a student-led, year-round philanthropic organization that raises critical funds for our local Children’s Miracle Network hospital,” TribeTHON Executive Director Amelia Dunning ’26 said. “100% of our funds raised go directly to CHKD, and these donations allow CHKD to purchase medical supplies, fund pediatric medical research and crucial programs that are not covered by insurance.”
The impact of these funds is crucial. Over the past few years, the hospital has made significant breakthroughs in cystic fibrosis research that have the potential to expand life expectancies, a milestone that Dunning notes is made possible in part by the fundraising efforts of organizations like hers. TribeTHON is the only THON chapter that directly supports the local Norfolk hospital, for which the Woodstock event helps provide essential resources.
Student organizers start the planning process as early as December. When it comes to scheduling, the groups attempt to promote high attendance by coinciding festivities with the College’s Day for Admitted Students. Although organizers say the impact of the event is worth it, running a festival at this scale doesn’t come without its challenges.
Behind the scenes, the organizers continuously fought logistical challenges. When one of the performing bands pulled out at the last minute, the Sigma Pi philanthropy chair managed to successfully coordinate with band Magnolia Rifle to fill the slot. However, the challenges didn’t end with the lineup.
“I could walk you through a number of challenges,” Dunning admitted. “We didn’t have tables. The amphitheater doesn’t actually let you set up stuff for bands, so they had to bring all their own equipment. We were running around with extension cord issues earlier today.”
Even the food wasn’t spared from difficulties. The original donut vendor hit their donation quota and had to pull out, but luckily, a member of the organization and her aunt stepped up and personally acquired 10 dozen donuts to save the day. No matter the challenge, the power of community and a shared goal ensured that the show went on.
The student musicians were excited by the opportunity to perform, including the newly-formed band, Magnolia Rifle.
“We want to play anywhere, you know? We just want to play gigs,” band member Santiago Knepp ’28 said.
Although it was his band’s first time playing the event, Knepp had participated in the event before as a member of other groups.
“I love the amphitheater,” Knepp said. “It’s got great acoustics; it’s a good sound system that they set up, so it was fun.”
Performing at Woodstock also held some personal nostalgia for him.
“I remember coming here on Day for Admitted Students when I was a senior. I came here, and I watched the future drummer and guitarist in one of my bands play,” Knepp said. “They were sophomores then, and now I’m a sophomore, and we just played, you know? It’s kind of full circle.”
For curious fans, Magnolia Rifle has more gigs coming up, including one Thursday, April 30 on Sadler Terrace and one Sunday, May 10 as part of another music festival. Woodstock is only the beginning for this band.
The band Haul is also getting their start, having formed just last November. They created the band to fill in for a last minute spot at the Meridian, writing their songs in only an hour. They’ve come a long way since then.
“We had a lot of songs that we were working on, like originals that we wanted to play for people and eventually, hopefully in the future, to get recorded and stuff like that. We worked a lot over winter break to get ready for this semester,” band member Finn McCormack ’29 said. “So we’re doing a lot of shows this semester just to work with the band, and we’re doing a lot of rehearsals, but it’s been great.”
The band enjoyed playing at Woodstock and would happily do it again.
“It has really snowballed, which has been fun,” guitarist and vocalist Barrett Worrell ’29 said. “This is like the dream lineup. I love all the other bands that we played with — really talented musicians and just really good vibes.”
For the students in the audience, Woodstock offered the chance to kick back, relax and listen to good music, all while supporting their peers and a good cause.
For Fiona Morris ’28, it was her first time attending the event.
“I just wanted to come, have a chill evening with some of my friends and listen to some good music,” Morris said.
Grace Huffman ’26, who was also at Woodstock for the first time, expressed similar sentiments.
“I love listening to live music, especially when it’s supporting my peers on campus and for a good cause,” Huffman said.
She said the festival is also a great opportunity to discover new music groups on campus.
“I like hearing so many different bands and seeing the talent on campus that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise,” Huffman said. “I feel like it’s hard to discover these bands without going to events like these, and it’s just fun to see how many good musicians we have on campus.”
