Raindrops jumped off the cymbals with every hit of Konrad Meissner’s drumsticks. After the sunny Saturday turned into a soggy night, Meissner, the drummer for Matt Nathanson helped close out Binghamton University’s annual Spring Fling along with other musical acts Every Avenue and Lifehouse.

No strangers to rain, students powered through the downpours to watch Lifehouse end the day-long event on Saturday, April 26, over an hour after their scheduled performance time.

Spring Fling, a sure sign the semester is coming to a close, was filled with the rides, performances and fried foods students have come to know, giving the event its typical carnival atmosphere.

Jake Gartman, a senior linguistics major, said he enjoyed the event more than previous years.

“The weather was nicer,” Gartman said. “Except the lines were too long.”

The day started at noon and soon screams of joy, or terror, could be heard throughout the campus as the carnival rides began. Popular rides like the Gravitron, the Pirate Ship and the Hurricane returned to campus along with inflatable obstacle courses and rock walls. Student group performances filled the busy day along with an Olympic trampoline act.

“The acrobats were amazing,” Ting Ting Tam, a sophomore political science major, said. “Probably the best part.”

BU’s own Soundhouse, winner of Late Nite/WHRW’s Battle of the Bands, started the musical acts on the main stage around 6 p.m. Following their energetic performance, and the onset of rain, Michigan natives Every Avenue played to a small crowd of about five dozen people huddled under a couple of umbrellas. The weather didn’t seem to stop students from enjoying themselves as they danced in front of the stage.

At about 8 p.m. rock/pop star Matt Nathanson and his band began to draw a crowd. Nathanson’s music, a blend of folk and rock, got the audience moving. Opening with his hit “Car Crash,” Nathanson developed a rapport with the crowd, often including them in chorus of his songs and commanding them to dance. He played a mix of his own original songs and classic covers like Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and part of Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl.”

Nathanson dedicated several of his songs to various things including Binghamton and Hulk Hogan.

Over an hour after their scheduled time, Lifehouse took the stage to a crowd of wet but excited fans. Sandi Dube, vice president of programming for the Student Association said the blowing rain caused Lifehouse to almost cancel the show.

“Rain started coming through the tent and onto the drum kit, and with strong wind blowing the rain in we had to move the mics back,” Dube said. “There’s so much electricity involved we did our best to move the electrical equipment and drums back; [Binghamton Sound, Stage and Lighting] and the sound people are really to thank.”

According to Dube, because of the rain Lifehouse was only going to play three songs, but because of the measures taken they played approximately 40 minutes.

Widely known for their 2001 hit “Hanging by a Moment,” Lifehouse didn’t disappoint fans.

“At least I can say I’ve heard them sing ‘Hanging by a Moment,’” Yi-Ting Wang, a sophomore economics major, said.

Dube said she was thrilled with how Spring Fling as a whole came together.

“The overall turnout at Spring Fling was amazing,” Dube said. “We sold out all of our shirts and Sodexo meal tickets early.”

Dube said the only way to compare numbers to last year was using the meal tickets, and all 3,000 meal tickets sold out this year.

“I saw more people than I did in the past three years,” Dube, a senior said.