Photos from the 2015 Revelry Music and Arts Festival

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The third annual Revelry Music and Arts Festival, presented by the Wisconsin Union Directorate, was, by all accounts, a success. Despite the festival’s modest roots — it began just three years ago as a small, identity-searching event at Union South — Revelry has blossomed into an impressive element of Madison’s vibrant scene.

It’s a near impossible task to satisfy the musical tastes of 40,000 students, but organizers did a respectable effort in booking a variety of acts and genres. Including an ascending hip-hip star (Chance the Rapper), electronic/alternative groups (AlunaGeorge, Until the Ribbon Breaks) and purveyors of a social media phenomenon/song called, yes, “#SELFIE” (the Chainsmokers), Revelry had something for just about everyone.

Although the festival ended with a bang, it started with more of a whimper. In late afternoon, well past Revelry’s noon start time at the Memorial Union Terrace, the main stage at Library Mall was a ghost town. Until the Ribbon Breaks performed a powerful set despite technical difficulties — laptops and 76-degree heat don’t mix well — but they played to about 50 people at a stage built for thousands. Although Library Mall took a while to get buzzing, the Terrace Stage was jam-packed for the majority of the day. With cold pitchers of beer flowing and the Midwestern sun shining, there couldn’t have been a better setting for breezy tunes played by some of Madison’s finest new bands, including Dolores and Modern Mod.

Finishing off the night with a confident, grand performance was Chicago’s Chance the Rapper. Despite being the same age as most UW seniors, Chance commands the stage with the bravado of someone way beyond his 22 years. Two songs into his set, Chance said: “I can already tell that this is going to be a damn good show.” Thousands of ecstatic UW students could have told you that he meant it.