FreakNight traveling circus visits Pullman
Usually University of Idaho students study or take it easy on Wednesday nights, but this week, there is something a little freaky going on.
For the first stop of its tour, the FreakNight Traveling Circus will perform from 7 p.m. to midnight on Wednesday, at the Washington State University Beasley Coliseum in Pullman.
FreakNight is an electronic dance music festival put on by USC Events. Every year, the traveling circus tours around the Northwest, leading up to the main Halloween event in Seattle.
This year, the tour begins in Pullman before moving north to Spokane. This will be the first time FreakNight visits the Pullman area.
Berto Cerrillo, assistant director for student involvement at WSU, said the traveling circus is visiting Pullman to continue the relationship WSU started with USC Events last fall. In the spring of 2014, WSU and USC Events did their first collaboration together, which included musical parodies of Journey.
He said the process of getting FreakNight to Pullman has been in the works since May of this year, immediately following the duo’s first collaboration. According to Cerrillo, the FreakNight performance in Pullman features four touring EDM performers — Borgore, Caked Up, Botnek and Darrius — in addition to two local performers. He said while the show is likely to cater to people who enjoy EDM music, the quality of the performances should draw in other audiences as well.
“The show is more than just music,” Cerrillo said. “Its lights, it’s the stage set up, it’s really a pretty cool performance so the experience should be good. Visually these performances are good for sound and for sight.”
Cerrillo said he predicts a high turnout for the event because it is the first time FreakNight is traveling to the area and having EDM shows in the Palouse region is rare. Cerrillo said he’s also excited they’re able to put on the event and make it available to people in Pullman and Moscow, including UI students.
“These kind of events don’t normally come this direction,” he said. “So having a performance like the one we’re having … it’s just unique to the area and unique to what our students are used to seeing.”
Cerrillo said the appeal of FreakNight, in his opinion, is the opportunity to enhance the sense of community in the area. He said he hopes people can connect while having fun and staying safe.
“For the student entertainment over here at WSU, a lot of what we do is about making memories or allowing people to have the opportunity to experience something new and different,” he said. “We hope the entire atmosphere, and the people being here and the people being friendly, cordial, looking out for each other and enjoying the good time is really what we hope comes out of it.”
He said attendees are encouraged to wear costumes to celebrate the Halloween overtone of the show.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit uscevents.com.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected]