Every spring, sports-fanatics await the month of March due to the exciting chaos that fills the weeks. From the first few days of March until the end of April, college basketball teams participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Basketball Tournament to hopefully be crowed the champions of college basketball. Each year, 68 teams from across the nation travel to compete against other schools. However, only the best of the best advance to the finals.

On Mar. 1, four final basketball teams traveled to Houston, Texas where they participated in the Final Four game. The Villanova Wildcats, Oklahoma Sooners, North Carolina Tear Heels, and Syracuse Orange advanced to be the last four teams of the tournament. To celebrate these final victories, the NCAA hosted a March Madness Music Festival over the weekend of Apr. 1-3 at Discovery Green park.

AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Capitol One Banking each hosted a day of the weekend where performers ranged from pop band Maroon 5 to rapper Kendrick Lamar.

The free, public festival kicked off on Friday, April 1 at 4:00 in the afternoon. Artists Lukas Graham, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At The Disco took over the AT&T stage where thousands of fans attended the outdoors festival to celebrate the final days of March Madness.

Coca-Cola hosted Saturday’s all-day concerts that included performances from Conrad Sewell, Jason Derulo, Twenty One Pilots, and Kendrick Lamar. With such popular headliners as these, fans began queuing outside the park the night before the concert to ensure they would be in the front of the massive crowd that filled Discovery Green.

Saturday’s festivities started in the afternoon after doors opened at 12:00. Fans anxiously waited outside the entrances and once the park was opened, hundreds of attendees raced to the Coca-Cola music stage. Conrad Sewell shortly took the stage with Jason Derulo following after.

Between sets, Coca-Cola music representatives hosted competitions and contests that allowed for the crowd to interact while waiting for their favorite artists. Prizes even included tickets to the NCAA March Madness Tournament the following days.

Along the front barricade, there seemed to be fans that shared a common theme. Most fans that sat front row either had Twenty One Pilots or Kendrick Lamar fan merchandise on, proving to be extremely dedicated. Achieving a front row spot was not an easy task to achieve, as most fans had been waiting for over 20 hours.

Specifically, Twenty One Pilots fans were easy to spot from the crowd. The band has a distinct stage presence where band members, Joshua Dun and Tyler Joseph, cover their eyes, necks, and hands in red and black costume make-up to symbolize the suffocating nature of their insecurities. The hard core fans in the crowd mirrored the unique look, creating a sea of uniquely-colored teens in the crowd.

After Twenty One Pilot’s set ended, a long period of waiting swept through the stage. The most popular performer of the night, Kendrick Lamar, would not be coming out for another four hours.

With temperatures ranging to 75 degrees, concert attendees who were patiently waiting in the sun all day began to feel ill. Chants from the crowd erupted shouting “Water! Water! Water!” Festival security frantically searched for dehydrated fans while the March Madness Final Four game was hosted on the main stage screen.

Soon the sun was setting as temperatures cool, as did the crowd. The moment that thousands of fans waited for arrived when rapper Kendrick Lamar leaped onto the stage.

Lamar swooned the crowd immediately, performing songs from his oldest and newest album. He even brought up two fans on stage to perform “m.A.A.d city,” one of his most popular hits. All eyes were one Lamar while he jumped around stage, electricity pumping through the crowd.

As Lamar closed out the night, the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tear Heels advanced to the final round of the March Madness Tournament.

Celebrating wins from basketball games to concerts, the final day of the festival was hosted by Captial One Bank. Aloe Blancc, Pitbull, Flo Rida, and Maroon 5 shook Discovery Green one last time before the weekend ended.

Dedicated fans from all across the nation came together over the first weekend of April to enjoy a time of sports and music. With performances from some of the hottest artists at the moment and the energy that buzzed through the city of Houston, this year’s March Madness was one to remember.