Where it all started
A group of students, fueled by their love for live music, set out to create a festival. They plastered “Bands Wanted” posters all over the university campus, reaching out to enthusiastic musicians. The TU/e soon transformed into a vibrant festival ground.
Plugged Festival was born from the Skybar Committee of 2011-2012 – the bar committee of study association CHEOPS. In that year, the idea of a “band drink” came to life – an outdoor gathering with live music. It was a fantastic concept, immediately added to the agenda and enthusiastically promoted. Bands weren’t hard to find, but the technical gear and equipment? That was another story – quite challenging and expensive. It might not have been the most meticulously thought-out plan, but it was already in motion…
Afterward, the decision was made that an outdoor gathering with music was a must. It was an undertaking that required meticulous preparation and served as a perfect excuse to keep the spirited committee together. So, the following year, a dedicated group from Skybar 2011-2012 spent an entire year organizing and laying the foundation for the actual festival. And thus, Plugged was born.
The first edition had to be perfect. All the bands were booked for free, the sound engineer received some drinks, and we even learned how to assemble the stage from Renato in the art studio. All that was missing was sunshine, cold beers, and those chill vibes. On the day of the event, the weather forecast wasn’t too promising. But, feeling like die-hard organizers, we decided to set up at the Koeveld. The stage was halfway done when the CHEOPS board came rushing in, exclaiming, “Guys, this is NOT happening. Plan B: under the market hall.” We were initially disheartened, but incredibly, even before the first notes rang out, it started thundering. Speaking of the first notes, the inaugural edition was already running 45 minutes late because we hadn’t received permission to begin earlier. The TU/e board was in a meeting in the main building. Despite all these hiccups, we managed to ensure that all the bands, including the DJ, got their chance to perform!
The creative vibes of Plugged were present from the very start. To create a covered stage, you simply had to slide a party tent over some stage parts. Speaking of which, those tents had to come from somewhere, so while the festival was already in full swing, tents had to be collected from other study associations using the infamous (and still existing) CHEOPS-Bakfiets.
LINEUP 2013
- Lounge Seat
- Blame It On The Beep
- B Sharp
- Grim Tim
- De Bijtels
- Friday02
- Lookapony
- DJ Eloy Colbin