USF’s spring music festival, Bullstock, was cut short during the headlining set by indie rock band Grouplove on Friday night.

Rain fell sporadically during the band’s performance, but the festival was called off when it started raining consistently — an hour before the originally scheduled 11:15 p.m. end time.

This was met with the audience booing and students rushing out of the event to escape the rain and cold combo. 

Grouplove was originally scheduled to play at 10:15 p.m., but due to the impending weather issue, the performance was moved to 9:15 p.m., with other bands’ performance times being shortened. 

Gloomchild and the Rogues’ Gallery were able to play their originally scheduled performance time, but the rest of the bands’ times were shrunk.

While the festival featured a variety of bands, many students attended Bullstock to see headliner band Grouplove perform. 

Related: USF Week guide, Lana Condor to speak at ULS – USF Week Edition 2025 

Excitement for the band started soon after rapper Destin Laurel finished his performance, with audience members hooting and hollering while staff set the stage for Grouplove. 

Leilah Blasky, a junior studying information technology, was one of the many students who got rained on during Grouplove’s performance. 

“I was really disappointed that we had to leave, but I had a great time,” Blasky said. “I heard a lot of the songs that I knew and loved, and then I heard new ones that I want to check out.” 

Blasky’s favorite Grouplove song is “Shark Attack” because it’s the first song she heard from the band, and it reminds her of her childhood.

“Shark Attack” was the second-to-last song played by the band before the event was cancelled.

Bullstock was one of several events held during USF Week, a weeklong celebration of university pride. The week included events such as the Ultimate Bull Talent Show, the University Lecture Series, Rocky’s Birthday Bash and Bullstock. 

On Wednesday, the ULS featuring Lana Condor was cut short due to a fire in a Marshall Student Center kitchen, causing the building to be evacuated. 

Related: Lana Condor speaks at USF about Asian heritage, representation

USF alumnus Gert Schipper graduated in 2024 but came back to attend Bullstock this year specifically for Grouplove. 

Last year, Schipper traveled to Virginia for a VIP concert because it was the “closest” the band was coming to Florida, he said.

“I think it’s pretty cool to come see them like this, just spontaneous and out of nowhere,” Schipper said. 

Schipper said Grouplove was one of the first bands he started listening to when trying to find the music styles he liked.

While many students attended the festival to see Grouplove, senior mass communications major Skylar Micky came to support her friends and local bands.  

“I have multiple friends in Social Dilemma, one of the opening bands tonight,” Micky said. “They were so good we had to see them.” 

Related: USF Battle of the Bands showcases music scene ahead of Bullstock

Social Dilemma was one of the three winners of the Battle of the Bands held on March 28 at the Marshall Student Center Amphitheater. 

Battle of the Bands is an annual band competition held every spring where bands compete in front of judges and a live audience, and the winners get to play at Bullstock.

Luke Johnson, a guitarist for Social Dilemma, said it was “pretty exhilarating” to play at the festival.

“It was one of the biggest stages I’ve ever played on,” said Johnson, a junior finance major. 

Johnson said he enjoys the growth of playing on bigger stages with bigger frequencies.

The band formed in April 2024 when friends picked up instruments while hanging out and realized they liked making music together, Johnson said. 

The name, Social Dilemma, comes from the band members not being fans of “doom scrolling” because they believe it is a “waste of people’s time,” Johnson said. 

The band has come a long way since the members originally picked up their instruments, but playing at Bullstock showed Johnson how far they’ve come. 

“It’s not easy,” Johnson said. “It’s a whole bunch of moving parts, everybody’s got their own taste, but we figured it out and got it together.”