For the first time in years, the general public was only able to enter the National Mall complex if they paid.

On September 26th and 27th, West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. hosted the Landmark Music Festival. The main purpose of the festival was to raise money for the maintenance and care of the National Mall, which has fallen behind $852 million dollars on its payments.

Although the main excitement in the festival was an appearance by rapper Drake, the festival’s lineup also included a series of different artists from many genres, including The Strokes, alt-J, Miguel, George Ezra, and many more.

Sophomore Natalie Granader attended the music festival with a couple of her friends and loved the festival’s energy.

“People were going crazy dancing and singing everyone was screaming,” Granader said.

In terms of artists, Granader enjoyed Drake the most, but did not have the opportunity to see many of the artists who performed, since she was only there for one night.

One criticism of the festival that many had, including Granader, was the festival’s high cost. The price was $105 for a one day attendance pass, and the weekend cost up to $175. VIP and platinum passes were also available, but for a much higher price.

In terms of getting to the festival, both attendees and the festival’s website recommended taking the Metro, as driving would have been difficult due to the festival’s location away from main roads and parking and many crowds that would have crowded the limited road space in the park.

Although music festivals can be known for their raucous crowds and abundance of drugs and alcohol, Granader said that the crowd, for the most part, was pretty calm.