Although Green Key weekend is often seen as a unique Dartmouth tradition, it is but one spring weekend among many held nationwide. Other Ivy League schools also host outdoor party weekends with outdoor performances.
Yale University's campus was filled with music at this year's Spring Fling Concert on April 29. Performers included Best Coast, Grouplove, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and RL Grime. The Yale College Council and Spring Fling committee organized the concert.
Freshman Timothy Follo said the concert was enjoyable but was limited due to the changed final exam schedule.
The concert is typically planned for the first day of the week-long reading period before finals. This year, the period was cut short, hurting attendance.
"There were only 1,000 people on the quad at any given time," Follo said.
The concert itself, he said, was excellent and featured a wide variety of performances, including student DJs and bands.
"It was a blast, but I was disappointed that academic requirements got in the way," Follo said. "I had an oral exam the next morning."
Columbia University held a similar music concert at their spring music festival, called Baccahanal. The festivities culminated with a free concert, headlined by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and DJs Flosstradamus on April 13.
Freshman Anne Scotti said it was a positive class bonding experience.
"Overall I think it was a really successful week," Scotti said. "Bacchanal was really good it was nice to see the whole campus come together."
The event was moved to morning rather than the afternoon as originally planned, and Scotti added that Macklemore's performance was the highlight.
"At one point he was standing on the crowd," she said. "People were so excited, and people were so drunk."
The University of Pennsylvania held its Spring Fling on April 12 and 13. The main event was a concert held at the university's Franklin Field, with featured Tyga, Janelle Monae and DJ Girl Talk. Spring Fling is typically held two weeks before finals.
Freshman Kyle Grigel said that though the concert is planned for the weekend, the event tends to go a little longer.
"It dominated the entire second half of the week," he said. "Most of the time it's four or five days professors are very good about it."
Spring Fling featured the formal concert with its headlining acts, which required paid tickets, and free music events on the quad.
"Generally, it was a cleaner Fling than it's historically been," Griegel said.
Princeton University hosted its biannual Lawnparties on May 5.
Lawnparties, held right before reading period, has open music acts and festivities on the lawns of Princeton's eating clubs. This year's headlining act was Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
Freshman Conor McGrory said the main idea behind Lawnparties is to dress up in a preppy manner to satirize a Princeton stereotype.
"It's supposed to be a total exaggeration," he said. "Some people carry croquet mallets around to try and reinforce the stereotype."
Harvard University hosted Tyga at its annual Yardfest on April 13, despite controversy provoked by what some saw as his misogynistic lyrics. Brown University held its Spring Weekend from April 19 through 21, while Cornell University celebrated Slope Day with a performance by Hoodie Allen on May 3.
