Rainy start, steady finish: Frost Fest 2026 finds its rhythm
Stanford Concert Network’s (SCN) 13th Annual Frost Arts & Musical returned to Frost Amphitheater this past Saturday, bringing together a mix of alternative pop, hyper pop, indie and electronic acts. Barry Can’t Swim headlined the festival, with Frost Children and Between Friends as support.
The evening felt questionable at first. Temperatures lingered in the 50s, with steady wind and heavy rain moving through the amphitheater. It was the kind of weather that makes one want to stay at home and bundle up while drinking warm soup. This year, simply walking to Frost demanded some serious commitment.
On Saturday, I found myself back at a “rain or shine” show at Frost, thinking about the last time this happened during a drizzly Blackfest in 2024. If that afternoon proved anything, it was that shows at Stanford don’t stop for the weather. This year’s Frost Fest didn’t either, and SCN tried to meet the moment. The ponchos handed out at the amphitheater’s entrance were a nice touch and seemingly encouraged students to still show up, even if the ponchos themselves did not do much to keep anyone fully dry.
Early on, there was a hesitant energy amongst the audience members, who were scattered across the amphitheater rather than packed into it. Fortunately, that feeling did not last. Shoes came off, puddles became part of the dance floor and at some point, it stopped feeling inconvenient and started feeling fun. There was a shift from watching the show bunched up under trees, to being in it.
During pop duo Frost Children’s opening set, it was evident that the students who showed up early were there specifically for the hyper pop sibling duo Angel and Lulu Prost. Pockets of the crowd sang along bar for bar, lending the performance an intimacy that Frost Amphitheater sometimes lacks. Frost wasn’t packed, but the people present were fully dialed in.
The duo’s stage presence leaned into contrast. Angel, dressed in a Britney Spears-style schoolgirl look, carried a gold flag she waved throughout the set, her microphone blending almost seamlessly into a long blonde braid that extended from her hair. Lulu, in all black attire with bright red hair, stood in sharp contrast. The backdrop remained simple, placing focus on their music and delivery.
Between Friends, another sibling duo consisting of Brandon and Savannah Hudson, took the stage next, continuing the sibling theme but shifting genres to alternative pop. The crowd responded immediately, especially during their hit “affection,” which was met with a full singalong. About halfway through their set, the rain finally let up. More students began to filter in, and the amphitheater started to fill out.
What stood out most was Brandon’s range on stage. Moving between DJ-ing, guitar and vocals, he anchored the set in a way that made it feel both polished and dynamic. Paired with their colorful visuals and closing backdrop, the performance was leaned more into structure and presentation, offering a clear contrast to the rawness of Frost Children.
When headliner Barry Can’t Swim took the stage, the atmosphere changed again, this time inward. From the start, his set felt less like a traditional performance and more like a continuous experience. He moved between tracks without pause, never breaking the flow and never addressed the crowd.
A microphone sat next to him the entire time, untouched. At first, it stood out. Then it started to make sense. His set unfolded like a mellow rave. Backdrops shifted throughout, and he moved with the music, fully locked into it. Without heavy lyrics or familiar hooks, the focus shifted away from recognition and toward presence. Even for those who did not come in as EDM fans, the set held attention in a quieter, more sustained way.
Going into Frost, I felt there was some uncertainty on whether attending would be worth it. Not everyone knew the headliner, and that — coupled with the weather — showed in the lower turnout compared to last year’s Frost Fest featuring Doechii, which marked the festival’s first sellout. This year’s show also competed with a packed weekend across campus, from sorority recruitment to a visit from Malala Yousafzai.
But for those who stayed, it worked.
Barry Can’t Swim didn’t feel like an artist whose discography you automatically know the lyrics to. Instead, his show felt like the kind of set you show up for and experience in real time, letting it build naturally. Yet this, to me, is what made the ending feel all the more abrupt.
Just as the set seemed fully settled into its rhythm, it was cut short. An apparent signal from offstage led to a quick wind-down, followed by a brief acknowledgement and exit. There was no real closing moment … just an end that did not quite match the flow he had built.
Still, the night held together. It did not have last year’s scale, but it did not need to. Instead, Frost Fest offered something more low-key and immersive. Students went out of their way for Frost in bad weather; for a school known for its “flake culture,” that felt notable. Not perfect, not always predictable, but memorable in the way the experience asked something of the crowd, and in return, gave them something worth staying for.
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