Even the chilly weather couldn’t keep away students and community members alike as they gathered in the VTSU Lyndon stonehenge parking lot for the first night of the 12th annual Greggfest Celebration.
What began in 2014 as a fundraiser for Jake Gregg, a Music Business and Industry student diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, has since transformed into one of the most anticipated traditions on the VTSU-Lyndon campus. More than just an event, it has become a way to honor Jake’s legacy while giving Music Business and Industry students the opportunity to perform for the Vermont State University-Lyndon community and audiences across the Northeast Kingdom.
As a tribute to Jake Gregg students Ben Perreault, Max Groft, and Dakota James jumped on stage before the opening act to perform a cover of “The Pirate Song” an original song from Jake’s band Suncooked. The heartfelt rendition of the song off the band’s album Straight From The Surface was a wonderful way to kick off the 12th annual festival.
Mollie Jean took to the stage in all dolled up in cowgirl boots and a classic little black dress for her singer songwriter country fusion set. Joined by Noah LaPointe on guitar, Dakota James on Drums, and Finn Paterson on bass Mollie sported her classic acoustic guitar as she jumped into her first song of the night. Using the event to promote her newest EP Hard to Forget which debuted the morning of the festival Mollie delivered powerful and emotional live performances of each song on the EP “Hard to Forget”, “Like You Did to Me” and the title track “Hard to Forget”. In addition to her original songs Mollie Jean also covered “Mama’s Broken Heart” a classic angry breakup song by country queen Miranda Lambert. With proper sass and energy Mollie put aside her guitar for her iconic cover of the song. Whenzdaze, a rock band out of Massachusetts, shook up the energy as they charged the stage. The band jumped into their performance with intense covers of classic songs “My Hero” by the Foo Fighters and “First Date” by Blink-182. After the high energy covers the band swapped to a collection of their original music performing one of their newest singles “Dear Jack” released in July 2025. The swinging punk rock blend quickly pulled the audience in with a large group of students and community members alike dancing right in front of the stage. Front man Eddie Donovan quickly captivated the crowd with his intense stage presence. The band brought the energy over the top as bassist Noah Liolios, Lead Guitarist Jack Bernard, drummer Ethan Church, and Eddie rocked out with the crowd. With a magical and mysterious energy Paper Lady quickly captivated throughout the festival with their unique blend of soft yet intense vocals and scratchy drums. The band located in Boston traveled to the Greggfest stage delivering a emotional performance full of their original music. The intense set featured songs off the group’s album Idle Fate opening the performance with the first song on the album “Rust” a catchy tune that highlights lead singer Alli Raina’s dreamy tone and emotional lyrism. Joined by key members Rowan Martin on lead guitar and Alex Castile on drums the group performed several other songs from their album including “I am Ribbon”, “Silt”, and “Static”. Paper Lady finished their set with the intense song “Joe Modern” from Idle Fate the song features sharp guitar and drums that work to create a sense of unease and urgency. A perfect upbeat song to get the audience two stepping in a small mosh pit. Headlining night one of Greggfest 2026 all the way from NYC Blanket Approval hit the stage with their fun indie rock sound. The four piece group Jack Matteucci (singer/guitarist), Joey Hadden (drummer/vocalist), Max Mena (bassist), and Rahul Chakraborty (keyboardist/guitarist) brought an infectious energy to the stage opening their set with the original single “Happy Alone Pt. 2” a groovy and vibey song the group released in 2023. With all four members singing throughout the set the group wove intricate vocal harmonies on top of their upbeat swinging instrumentals. Celebrating their debut studio album Heartbreak City that released March 20th, 2026, Blanket Approval excitedly performed several hits off the album. Including “Berlin Blues” an up-tempo song featuring Joey’s energetic lead vocals with a fun guitar solo and intricate keyboard melodies. Jumping into another song featuring Joey on lead vocals “fleas” highlighted the groups intense lyric writing skills with intense verses and catchy choruses with a lower energy instrumental accompaniment that allowed the lyrics and vocals to shine. While the weather kept some people away Blanket Approval didn’t let the smaller turnout or chilly weather keep their energy down as they performed the title track “Heartbreak City” a swinging upbeat song with a classic indie rock vibe. The energy was infectious as the group continued to perform an incredible set full of their original songs the crowd quickly formed a small pit full of dancing and singing along right up to the edge of the stage.BLANKET APPROVAL
PAPER LADY
WHENZDAZE
MOLLIE JEAN
VTSU LYNDON MEISA
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