Started in 2003 as a small end-of-year concert, Volapalooza has since grown into the largest student-organized event on campus and an annual tradition that reaches out to both the UT and Knoxville communities.
Held at the end of spring semester, Volapalooza celebrates the end of a successful year at UT while providing students with a means to unwind before diving into finals week.
Volapalooza strives to create a concert lineup that targets a broad demographic by showcasing various musical genres. This event features a variety of popular music acts as well as local and national vendors. Past performers have included Fitz and the Tantrums, Tyga, Ziggy Marley, Big Gigantic, Three 6 Mafia, Girl Talk, Flogging Molly, Passion Pit, CAKE, and many more.
Here are the lineups you might recall from years past:
The Circle Park Years
2003 (1): Inaugural Volapalooza featuring Perpetual Groove, Pay the Girl, Natti Love Joys, Copper, and Pete Schmidt (4/5)
2004 (2): Appetite for Destruction, ZOSO, and Dave Matthews Cover Band (4/29)
The Fiji Island Years
2005 (3): Robert Randolph and the Family Band with Ingram Hill (4/21)
2006 (4): Ben Folds with special guest Chris Mills (4/28)
2007 (5): CAKE with local opener Matt Woods’ Plan A and support act the Old Ceremony (4/27)
2008 (6): Dashboard Confessional with Todd Carey (4/25)
2009 (7): Gym Class Heroes with Chester French and special guest star Reel Big Fish (4/24)
The Year at World’s Fair Park
2010 (8): Passion Pit with special guest Flogging Molly and opening by Asher Roth (4/30)
The Year It Moved to TRECS Intramural Fields
2011 (9): Girl Talk with Matt Costa and opening by the Kingston Springs (4/29)
The Thompson-Boling Arena Era
2012 (10) – Three 6 Mafia, Ziggy Marley, Big Gigantic
2013 (11) – Tyga featuring Beats Antique and DJ Mike Nasty
2014 (12) – Fitz and the Tantrums with Crab Apple Lane and the Dirty Guv’nahs
Back to World’s Fair Park!
2015 (13): Lupe Fiasco with Cold War Kids, Bad Suns, Kansas Bible Company, and Josh Thompson
2016 (14): Portugal. The Man with Raury, Moon Taxi, and Niykee Heaton Appearances by the Royal Bangs, Tut, Three Star Revival, and Roots of a Rebellion
Thompson-Boling Arena
2017 (15): X Ambassadors with COIN, Pell, Luke Pell, Mountains Like Wax, Electric Darling, and DJ A-Wall.
2018 (16): blackbear with Zella Day, R.LUM.R, Peak Physique, Hardcastle, and Oddnote.
Student Plaza
2019 (17): Andy Grammer with Bishop Briggs, and Daisha McBride.
Cancelled due to Covid-19
2020 & 2021
Thompson-Boling Arena
2022: Wiz Kalifa and Friends