Sunglass-clad twentysomethings lounged on woven blankets. Girls sashayed about, their boho-print floods swaying with each step. Guys in hats nodded to the beats radiating across the sun-drenched lawns.

Thousands of miles away from the internationally popular Coachella, this university’s students enjoyed their own festival atmosphere at Student Entertainment Events’ sixth annual Terpstock Music Festival.

SEE hosted the festival in the Nyumburu Amphitheater on Sunday. Student and professional artists of all genres played for more than five hours as the sun set on one of the warmest days of the year so far.

“We wanted to fill a hole that existed because we had a huge end of the year show,” SEE Public Relations Director Andi Hubbell said. “We wanted to have something that was more relaxed.”

The event serves to contrast the hype surrounding Art Attack in both size and style. Terpstock has a history of booking smaller-name bands and on-the-verge acts as well as local and student talent. This year, the festival kicked off with three Battle of the Bands participants: rock groups Talk Radio and Bare Left and a member of the rap group HYERLearnin.

Though the two events aren’t related, Hubbell said that Terpstock incorporates Battle of the Bands runner-ups to keep SEE involved with student talent.

“We like to know students, we’re a student organization, so why not draw from student talent,” she said.

Chris McClenney was the first headliner. He is a senior jazz performance major and recently joined Soulection, a Los Angeles-based independent label that works with artists around the world. He said he is currently its only East Coast act.

McClenney has performed in Washington at U Street Music Hall, as well as in New York and Los Angeles and with the music school’s jazz lab band. He has more than 20,000 followers on SoundCloud but expressed doubts about student reception of his West Coast vibe.

Chris McClenney

“The style of music that I usually spin is a little bit more underground,” he said. “I’m curious to see how people will react.”

All focus and no flash, McClenney wasted no time doling out funky beats and lush soundscapes to an early audience of almost 50 people. Bent over his laptop and soundboard, he engaged more with his music than the audience but provided the perfect array of exciting and relaxing vibes to ease sun-drunk students into the event and introduce them to his coastal brand.

During McClenney’s set, another headliner milled among the music-listeners, handing out stickers, chatting with festival-goers and spreading general well-wishes to the crowd.

Dale “Snail” Rodman and his band make up Dale and the ZDubs, a local reggae-rock band currently touring the East Coast.

“A ZDub is … someone who does their own thing,” said Rodman, who grew up near this campus. His father and grandfather are prominent state figures: The former is a boxer enshrined in Xfinity Center and the latter is the previous host of the Rodman Memorial Golf Tournament.

In true ZDub spirit, Rodman dominated the interview, and later the stage, with an impressive display of gymnastics, hurricane-force energy and vigorous head-banging that sent his dreadlocks flying.

Dale and the ZDubs

Shirtless and strutting, Rodman led his band through a high-energy set that had the audience up and dancing.

“High school- and college-aged people tend to really like our music,” Rodman said. “The musicianship is the best it’s ever been now, so the new songs are better than the old songs.”

Dale and the ZDubs indulged listeners in mainly new music, which the group hopes to compile in their third full-length album sometime in the upcoming fall or winter.

Cas Haley, a Texas-based reggae-folk artist, rounded out the Terpstock bill. He ended the night on an inspirational note.

“You can follow your dreams,” he told the crowd.

Haley cut his teeth in 2007 when he competed on America’s Got Talent, finishing the season in second place. Since then, he has released three albums and toured the West Coast and Europe. Despite making it big, Haley still has a soft spot for intimate venues with college audiences.

“I find it refreshing to have an audience that’s at a point in their life where they’re discovering who they are,” he said. “Just to have a conscious crowd means something different than a bar gig.”

Cas Haley

This fatherly take poked through during Haley’s calming and catchy set as he advised students on the joys of procreating (“Go out there and multiply!” he yelled), the wonders of parental love and the possibility of pursing big goals.

The crowd waned as the sun set over Terpstock, but Haley never did — his powerful, island-tinged vocals guided the evening to a gentle end.

“I really enjoyed Cas Haley,” said Joe Laverty, a sophomore computer science major. “The lineup was really interesting compared to last year’s [alternative one] and I like the way they incorporated students.”