Culture Shock Lineup to be Released Monday, MEC Confirms

Culture Shock is happening, and you can expect to hear more very soon

By Mike Ditota, Alyssa Samuels, and Marin Tyree

Culture Shock 2025 Lineup created by Lilith Bastek-Ochoa

After weeks of silence and speculation, Major Events Coordinator Kevin Marshall has confirmed that Culture Shock will be happening May 1 and 2, and information rollout is scheduled for this coming week. 

The festival is Purchase College’s yearly event that has boasted big names such as Drake, Destiny’s Child, Kendrick Lamar, Diplo, Kehlani, and Mitski. The completely student-run festival began in the 1980s under the name April Showers, before changing to Culture Shock in 1993 and incorporating non-student acts.

Culture Shock 2026 was first acknowledged on The Stood’s Instagram page on February 13, with an announcement post for a merch design contest. The original theme declared in the post was “Purch Ball”. There has been no indication of a winner being chosen.

On April 15, the same Instagram page posted a story asking viewers to submit names of student artists that they’d like to see perform. A follow-up post announced that more information would be released “next week”.

Marshall, the organizer of this year’s music festival, confirmed that students can look forward to the lineup announcement in the next few days. “Everything’s starting Monday. It’s going to explode everybody’s feed. Everybody’s going to hear about Culture Shock,” he said.

In previous years, The Stood has hosted a Pre-Shock event in early to mid April, where the lineup and theme for Culture Shock are announced. There will be no Pre-Shock this year, Marshall confirmed, a choice he said was intentional.

“It didn’t work, the time they gave me,” he said. He said he decided to forgo the event to allocate all of the budget to Culture Shock itself. “Please just trust the process. I promise you, I know what I’m doing.”

Reneé Morancie-Edwards, a senior who has been to Culture Shock for the last three years, said, “It just feels like we’re thrown in, and I don’t know a lot of people who are excited about it. I don’t really feel excited this year.” Morancie-Edwards misses events like Pre-Shock, and the buildup to Culture Shock. “It’s hard for people to be excited about something that they know nothing about. People want to know who’s performing,” she said.

Sophomore Frankie Larry said she went to Culture Shock last year, but is feeling unsure about this year’s. “I feel like there’s not going to be a celebrity headliner, which is kind of part of the big selling point of Culture Shock,” she said. “It's annoying, it kind of makes me care less about going at this point. We’re already close to the end of the school year, other things are on my mind now, it’s kind of disappointing.”

Marshall is aware of what people say online and around campus, and knows there has been discourse about the wait for information. “I do read everything and kind of see what the climate is. But I don’t let it get to me because I know what I have planned, and I know that people are going to enjoy it,” he said.

The main lineup this year will host 10 artists, five on each day, and Marshall says every one of the performers is an off-campus talent. “It’s a nice mixture. There’s something for everybody,” he said. Attendees can expect carnival games, 12 food trucks, rides, and a rage room. Marshall says he plans to stream the weekend live on Twitch.“It’s all part of the plan. Culture Shock is still happening. Culture Shock is going to be very, very fun.”