As the cumbia performers Grupo Massoro swayed through their set, the energy in the crowd was palpable, with hundreds of people dancing before the stage, raising their hands to the air, and singing along to the music. Further back from the speakers and the lights, the dozens of vendor stands buzzed with commerce, the smell of street food and spilled beer rich in the warm night air.

“I’ve been here fifteen years and I would say this is probably the best attended Fredstock to date.” Dr. Jacob-Aidan Martinez, Director of Student Life said late into the festival and the evening.

Fredstock, a music festival that has been held annually by San Antonio College’s Music Business program for over a decade and a half, has seen a sudden boom of growth and interest over the last two years. This expansion was not by chance, but the product of concerted efforts by several parts of SAC headed by the administration, with the goal of turning the festival into a self-sufficient source of income for the college and the Music Business program by 2028.

The biggest indicator of Fredstock’s growth is its budget. A total of $40,000 were provided to the festival to pay for the bands, the stage, and logistical costs such as generators, fencing, and security. This cost was paid in an even 4-way split, with KSYM, the Office of Student Life, SAC Administration, and the discretional budget of President Francisco Solis’ office each paying 10,000.

“KSYM is a moneymaker, it’s always been a moneymaker. It’s got accounts, we do pledge drives.” Professor James Borrego, RTF Program Coordinator and Station Manager for KSYM, told the Sundial. “Since we’re sitting on this money, Solis says, ‘well KSYM is gonna give (Fredstock) money’. And we were basically volun-told that we needed to give up that money.”

As recompense for the funding and in an effort to attract KSYM listeners to the festival, Fredstock was rebranded this year to be “KSYM Presents Fredstock”.

This is the second year that Fredstock has received funding from the President’s office directly, and with Solis’ approval, the festival will continue to receive money from the discretionary fund for the next two years as well. The $10,000 provided this year, the $10,000 provided last year and any more money to come from the President’s Office could be seen as a seed fund to help turn Fredstock into a self-sufficient and profitable event. One that will eventually pay back into the President’s discretionary fund all the money that was given.

“Last year was the first year we moved (Fredstock) into the big lot.”Music Business Program Coordinator Ruben Rodriguez said. “This year we got challenged a little bit, from our president’s office, to make it bigger.”

Another major change was the merging of the Office of Student Life’s Fun Fest event with Fredstock, bringing in more money and manpower. Since Fun Fest took place during the day leading up to when Fredstock began, it was considered a natural fit. Many of the 30 vendor slots were given to student clubs picked by the Office of Student Life, clubs who did not have to pay the same fee as outside vendors and had their supplies paid for by the student activity fund, making Fredstock an excellent fundraising opportunity for those student organizations.

The feelings of the organizers of Fredstock the next week were of cautious optimism. Beer was sold out, and the festival took 50% of the profits. Fredstock and KSYM merch also sold well on the night of, and was still selling in the days after. But the biggest lynchpin of Fredstock’s growth was securing a donation from Texas A&M for $2500, a sum which will go towards setting up a Fredstock account with the Alamo Colleges Foundation. This will put the event under the nonprofit umbrella of the Alamo Colleges, allowing Fredstock to actively seek donors and bigger sponsors.

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