UT Austin students lead campaign to bring Up & Up music festival to campus

February 19, 2026

A team of UT Austin students is racing to win a college ticket-sales contest that could bring the Monster Energy Up & Up Festival to campus. More than 70 colleges are participating, and the contest runs for 48 hours from Feb. 18 to Feb. 20, with the five highest-selling schools earning a Ship Wrek tour stop.

Ship Wrek, the electronic duo made up of Collin Maguire and Tripp Churchill, is the act tied to the prize, known for high-energy, futuristic electronic music. Up & Up UT Austin organizers also held a separate contest to select an opening DJ, and radio-television-film senior Andy Noh won after submitting a short mixtape that received votes on the festival's Instagram page.

Advertising junior Maria Obsuna serves as lead ambassador for the campus effort and says she first found the competition over winter break while browsing social media. Obsuna assembled a team of 12 ambassadors, and they targeted spirit groups and Greek life to spread the word and boost sales.

To incentivize student groups, the ambassadors created a philanthropy feature where discounts tied to promotional codes routed funds back to a charity chosen by the participating organization. The team also organized parties with student organizations, tabled on Speedway to hand out free Monster drinks and merchandise, and helped stage a DJ night that business freshman Andrew Xiao and finance sophomore Taishi Shiao performed at.

Students involved described the effort as a way to expand Austin's electronic music scene on campus. Shiao said exposure has made peers more open to attending EDM and house music events, a shift he has noticed since his freshman year.

Pre-sale tickets are listed at $30 on the Up & Up Festival website, and the first 100 registrants could secure free tickets. The festival site states that credit cards are only charged if a participating school wins a tour stop, and refunds will be available later for nonwinning purchases. Winners are scheduled to be announced on Friday.

Economics junior Evania Shibu said she plans to buy a pre-sale ticket and called festival events another way to highlight Austin's live music culture. If UT lands a tour stop, students would see both a national electronic act and a locally chosen opener on campus.