‘It’s Super Rainy’: Ravyn Lenae Headlines a Soggy Yardfest

Hundreds of students gathered in Tercentenary Theater on Sunday afternoon for pop R&B artist Ravyn Lenae’s performance at Yardfest, the College’s annual outdoor spring concert hosted by the Harvard College Events Board.

Lenae took to the stage after opening performances from student bands The TGs, Yael Danon, and Weld 16, concluding the three hour concert with her hit single “Love Me Not.” On-and-off rain and 40-degree temperatures marked the fourth straight Yardfest to unfold under gloomy skies.

“Thank y’all for standing in the cold and in the rain,” Lenae said during the show. “Are y’all, like, geniuses or something?”

The crowd roared.

In response to the showers, the Dean of Students Office announced that dinner — which has been served in Tercentenary Theater during the student groups’ opening acts in years past — would be moved indoors to Annenberg and House dining halls. Only dozens of students stood in the Yard during the student band performances, while rain fell steadily.

Denise Pan ’29 said she thought the weather had dampened the overall turnout.

“I’m really sad that there wasn’t a big turnout,” Pan said. “It’s a shame that it’s super rainy.”

Pan added that the inclement weather discouraged her from attending the student groups’ opening acts.

“It was just really rainy and cold,” Pan said.

Brianna Chan ’26 said the gray skies had become a Yardfest fixture.

“I was praying it would not be pouring, so I feel so happy that it turned out to not be raining during the show,” Chan said. “Every single year, the weather is very gloomy.”

But Chan said the crowd’s energy held up anyway.

“The energy was so good,” she said. “I thought that people would be more low energy because of the rain, but I think it was still so fun.”

Michael K. Chung ’28, who plays drums for The TGs, said the band nearly walked off before starting their set, which opened the concert.

“There were five people in the audience to start, and we were like, ‘Oh, hell no, we’re not performing our very well-crafted set for five people,’” Chung said.

But after delaying their set ten minutes, Chung said that students began to file in.

“It felt surreal,” he said. “We had a great crowd. We got a lot of Quad people to show up.”

David D. Dickson ’28 said he believed restrictions imposed by event organizers had resulted in lower attendance this year.

“I was looking at the rules: no re-entry, no food, no drink, no umbrellas,” Dickson, a former Crimson News editor, said. “It’s raining. It’s like, why would anyone want to come?”

College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo wrote in a statement that the school was “incredibly grateful to the College Events Board, student volunteers, and staff who dedicated months of their time to plan and host Yardfest.”

“We appreciate the more than 1,700 students who came out in the cold, rainy weather to celebrate and enjoy the performances,” he wrote.

Earlier in the day, the four House neighborhoods hosted block parties with food, drinks, face-painting, and balloon art. Most events moved under canopies or indoors as the rain picked up, but students still turned out to mingle and eat.

“The pink lemonade is flowing, the Ben and Jerry’s is scooping,” Ali Sediqe ’28 said. “It’s a great time.”

River Central relocated its block party from the Quincy House courtyard to inside the House. Jacqueline E. Metzger ’27, one of Quincy’s HoCo Co-Chairs, said the move did not slow things down.

“You come down and you’re instantly in a party,” Metzger said.

—Staff writer Wyeth Renwick can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @wzrenwick.

—Staff writer Claire L. Simon can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at csimon.13. Follow her on X @ClaireSimon.