If you went to Loufest last weekend, you may have seen some familiar faces among the massive crowd of sunglasses and rain boots.

The music festival, now in its seventh year, annually attracts thousands of St. Louisans for a large display of local food, and of course, the array of music. From folk to electronic, Loufest continuously charms the public. But last weekend, some EHS students found themselves disappointed in the mass crowds and the mud.

“I wore sandals and I did not know it was muddy so I just had to fight it,” senior Tess Secor said. “I think the mud put a huge toll on the situation.”

Friday night rain caused Forest Park to be a large mud-pit for the weekend, just in time for the thousands of music fans to rush in.

Senior Luke Dawson has attended Loufest for the last four years and said that this year was different from past years.

“It’s really cool to see bands at a big event like this in St. Louis,” he said. “(But), the bands were not as good (this year), especially compared to the first years.”

Rumors about funding issues have circled, but nonetheless, many Loufest fans were disappointed in the 2016 lineup, including Dawson and senior Karli Hubbard. She said her experience was worse this year “because of the mud and I didn’t know anyone performing.”

Although Loufest is the only big music festival in the area, Secor said she thinks that it has lost its popularity among EHS students in recent years.

“I think it used to be (popular among EHS students), but it is now becoming less popular due to a little older crowd and the music becoming more rap-based in high schools,” she said.

Despite the unexpected muddiness and the lack of the usual big names, Loufest still attracted a crowd of 25,000 this year. Dawson said he would go again next year for the hope of a better lineup and Hubbard still believes there is still fun in the experience.

“I love going to concerts whether I know the artist or not,” she said. “My friends and I always have fun dancing to the music and hanging out.”