Best Picnic Day activity: Eclectic Collective house show

This year’s show brought 9 bands to the Picnic Day celebration

By COLINA HARVEY— sports@theaggie.org

Eclectic Collective is a Davis-based organization established in 2021 that hosts live music events for the community. Since 2024, their biggest show of the year has been in celebration of Picnic Day. In collaboration with Velvet Red Productions, another organization that frequently hosts house shows around Davis, Eclectic Collective gathered nine bands to play a show in the heart of Downtown Davis this April. 

The lineup included local and student bands, such as Paddy on the Binge and In Bloom. It also included bands who traveled from other cities to be a part of the event, such as Honey Plant, based in Reno, and Mosaic Coyote, based in Los Angeles. Other bands who played at the show were First Name Basis, Lovejane, Corn Smut, Rainbow City Park and The Snares.

These bands offered a variety of musical styles, ranging from Paddy on the Binge’s traditional Irish folk to the Snares’ garage rock, that allowed listeners of many genres to enjoy the music the event had to offer.

One big draw of the event was its impressive run time. This year, the show spanned from noon to past 8 p.m., allowing attendees to come and go as they pleased without worrying about missing too much of the music. Although house shows are common in Davis, a show this long with this many bands only occurs for a special occasion like Picnic Day.

Along with the Eclectic Collective house show, Picnic Day offers many activities, including the parade, the Doxie Derby, the Chemistry Show and the Design Fashion Show. With the Eclectic Collective house show taking place just off campus, the atmosphere was energetic and lively, featuring crowdsurfers, bubble guns and even a limbo competition. If Eclectic Collective brings back the show for a fourth year in 2027, it will surely be a Picnic Day hit. 

Written by: Colina Harvey — sports@theaggie.org