I had doubts at first,

but never in my life did I think that I would get to see Alan Walker, a 20-years old who created his platform focusing on the gaming realm. I used to listen to his songs back in high school when he first released Faded and Spectre via YouTube, then over the next couple years, his music was heard on radio and TV. So when I heard that there was a chance for him to come to the Bay Area, let alone my school, I jumped right in.

To get him to come, SJSU needed to be one of the top 4 schools in the country to buy his pre-sale tickets. It’s not impossible but regardless I had doubts. First of all, I have never heard of the Up & Up Festival which isn’t surprising considering it only debuted last year. On top of that, it was not a guaranteed win but at a $20 price point, seeing Alan Walker is pretty much a steal.

Despite everything, I wanted us to win. I reached out to countless friends personally and convinced them to buy the pre-sale tickets during that 48-hour window. Ultimately, I was happy with the outcome because not only did SJSU won, but we came out as the 1st place school with 2.6K tickets. I never really had much pride in my school, but seeing that over 2K students wanted to see Alan Walker as much as I did, made me really happy. The event itself was amazing too! Jumping up and down with my friends and peers to an artist I actually liked was priceless.

I had heard multiple times during and after the event people were professing it was the best $20 they’ve spent in hopes Alan Walker will come back again. The fact that the Up & Up Festival can create this kind of feeling towards my peers is something else. I myself am definitely looking forward to what they’ll have to offer next year, or maybe even next semester.

If this becomes an annual thing, I believe the Bay Area can see a large increase in events.

Up & Up Festival, I’m excited to see what you’ll bring us next time!

-David Nguyen