Manhattan experienced two days of peace, love and music. No, I'm not referring to Woodstock but AggieFest. Though it did not compare to some other larger and more historic music festivals, AggieFest was definitely impressive in terms of Manhattan's size.

Aggiefest boasted 92 bands playing at nine different venues and the event was a big success, in part, because it appealed to so many different types of people. There were bands of many different musical genres present, including hip-hop, country, bluegrass, Ska and - of course - rock.

The festival also didn't discriminate against people not fortunate enough to be of legal drinking age. Many of the bars allowed an 18-and-over crowd and some of the venues even had all-ages shows.

Another plus for the festival was the fact that there were so many different venues. It was a great atmosphere concerts because each bar had its own special stage setup and drink specials, and to a certain extent, its own unique crowd.

Each bar offered a different experience. If you saw a show at O'Malley's, you were out on the patio.

If you saw a show at the KatHouse you had an indoor, smoke-free atmosphere. If you saw a show at Auntie Mae's, you had a huge staircase in front of you.

The shows were well planned, with artists performing a roughly 45-minute set every hour, on the hour. This made the schedule easy to follow. Many of the bands performed at multiple locations, making it easy to see the act you wanted to see.

Though it was an awesome weekend, there are some areas for improvement. The schedule sheets were not nearly as readily available as they should have been, making it difficult for everyone to know who was playing where and at what time.

Secondly, some of the bars charged an additional cover. When tickets to the festival run $12 to $15, depending on when you bought them, they should cover all shows, period.

Historically, Manhattan hasn't been particularly noted for its music scene, but AggieFest proved it can possibly change that image. Manhattan is a community that has shown time and time again that it is can unite in support of local issues. If you're looking for proof of that, just go anywhere in this town on a game day and all you will see is purple.

If the music lovers of Manhattan could support our local scene with half of the intensity as our football fans do, great things could happen.

Many people think the Manhattan community is too small to draw good music, but consider this: Manchester, Tenn. has a population of only 8,294, yet every year it draws nearly 100,000 music fans for the 4-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.

AggieFest is a good way to get Manhattan on the map. Who knows - maybe a day will come when the Midwest is no longer skipped over by artists who think they have no fans here.

Mark Condon is a senior in psychology. Please send comments to edge@spub.ksu.edu.