Saturday was this year’s annual Spring Jam, the University of Minnesota’s end-of-year celebration concert in a parking lot behind Ridder Arena.

Spring Jam had one main stage with eight acts performing, five battle of the bands finalists — Tin Whiskers, Homunculus Rex, Clean Plate Club, Honey Tree and Virgo — and three headliners including Beach Weather, Dizzy Fae and Mad Tsai. It also featured several fairground attractions like carnival games, caricatures, a Ferris wheel and other rides. 

Gates opened at 4 p.m., a half-hour before alternative rock band Tin Whiskers took the stage and kicked off the show. Their soft indie rock with noisy guitars and slow, swinging drums quickly picked up into a more frantic, heavier sound, culminating in a cover of Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” where the band members switched instruments with one another. 

They were followed up by fellow student band Homunculus Rex, another four-piece rock band. Homunculus Rex delivered a set of jazzy, prog-inspired math rock full of breakdowns and pickup-switching, keeping the crowd going as the battle of the bands was underway.

Eight-piece funk band Clean Plate Club delivered a short break from alternative rock, and their dancefloor-inspired setlist opened with a cover of Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven.” The band featured a three-man horn section and a keyboardist, adding several layers of texture to their sound.

Indie rock band Honey Tree followed them up with their heavy, yet moody songs, using distorted guitars and basses to contextualize the emotions of their lyrics. Their set was a welcome transition back into the noisy, chaotic sound of alternative rock. 

The Battle of Bands ended with a set by the three-piece band Virgo, an alternative rock band with a more frantic, punk-inspired sound. Thanks to their energetic set, with hard-hitting riffs and drums, they ended the Battle of the Bands victoriously. 

While the student bands rocked the festival’s only stage, most of the attendees this year seemed more concerned with the vendors than the shows themselves. It looked like there were more people in line to buy permanent jewelry and airbrush t-shirts than in the crowd for the concerts.

Hungry guests could eat barbecue, elotes, gyros, egg rolls and ice cream at the food trucks parked in a corner of Lot 37. Bored guests could play Fortnite at a gaming truck parked between the entrance and a Monster Energy tent full of salespeople competing with nearby Red Bull vendors to caffeinate the student body.

I enjoyed watching the battle of the bands, but otherwise, Spring Jam was underwhelming despite the good weather.