BY LOGAN HURSTON FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — On March 22, Aubfest will return to Boggin’ on the Plains for their sixth festival. Aubfest started in 2022 as Auburn’s first DIY music festival. The event has taken place each spring and fall semester ever since. The event was created by Ashley Spencer during her sophomore year at Auburn University. Spencer, now a senior in environmental science, is organizing her last Aubfest with Aubfest VI.
“The idea for Aubfest started in the summer after my freshman year,” said Spencer. “I had an internship at the U.S. Forrest Service in Fairplay, Colorado, and I was so happy to be out of town. I had a really hard freshman year. I didn’t make a lot of friends, and I was pretty lonely.
One day, my supervisor at the Forrest Service told me that there was going to be a festival on public land. I was like ‘you can have a festival on public land?’ She said ‘yeah, that’s how that works. It’s public land.’
“I always wanted to build up Auburn’s DIY community. My brother went here and he always complained that there was no music scene in Auburn. So I decided to make Aubfest. I have to give props to John Evans, who helped me a lot because I didn’t know any musicians at the time. John and I went to high school together and he introduced me to all the local bands that were at the first Aubfest.”
This semester’s Aubfest will feature a mix of local Auburn talent and bands from neighboring cities. The lineup includes Country Road Basement, Bruh Collective, Carmine Sun, Timothy Rose, Jombi, Blxck Sheep, Weary Pursuit, Blood Moon Riot, Lawn Dog, Speak Easy, Brunch With Rosie, Lunar Park and Nordista Freeze.
The festival has called Boggin’ on the Plains its home since it’s inception. Originally, Spencer was looking to host the festival at the Tuskegee National Forrest, but Boggin’ on the Plains was the better option with a built-in stage and infrastructure. After reaching out to Mark Bryant, the owner of Boggin’ on the Plains, the date was set.
Bryant, originally from Athens, Georgia, has owned Boggin’ on the Plains since October 2020. Bryant and his son, Jackson, are active in the ATV racing scene and had visited the area before buying the land. Boggin’ on the Plains is used as a campsite and off-road park and often hosts concerts and events. The park is open every weekend and hosts anywhere between 20-100 guests weekly.
With this being Spencer’s last semester in charge of Aubfest, she has garnered a team of students to host the festival in the future. Tyler Padgett, Caroline Chesnut, Aiden Calderon-Wyant, Carter Zane, Noah Dimon and Aria belle round out the team that help put Aubfest VI together by brainstorming ideas, marketing, deciding the lineup, working on fundraisers and making graphics. The group have hosted events to help fundraiser the cost for Aubfest, including thrift store pop-ups, dance parties and valentines gifts.
“Aubfest is a fairly affordable day of local music,” said Spencer. “We have so many acts all day. It’s one of the most fun-filled days of the semester at Auburn. We’re out in nature and there’s many options for people who may not like live music like poetry, arts and shop from local vendors. You can even camp for free after the festival ends. It’s a really special day that means a lot to me.”
Aubfest VI is an all day festival that is held on March 22. The event cost $30. For more information on Aubfest and Boggin’ on the Plains, visit bogginontheplains.com and Aubfest’s instagram @aubfest2025.