Carly Chamberlin/The Ithacan SIM REDMOND LEADS his band through a blistering set Friday night in Emerson Suites in celebration of Earth Day.

They have been called “hippies” and “tree huggers,” among other things, but as of Friday night, they were having the best time of anyone on campus. Bluegrass and folk music filtered through the Campus Center, as down home and earthy as it can get. The dress code was bare feet, overalls, natty hair and various facial expressions ranging from joyous to euphoric.

The Ithaca College Environmental Society kicked off its annual Earth Week celebrations with a concert Friday night. The show, which began at 8 p.m. in Emerson Suites, featured three bands, two made up of Ithaca College students and one based locally. The Sim Redmond Band was the headliner for the night.

The Hillbetties started the night off with a good, solid performance. The five-piece, all-woman band was doing its first gig ever, but the audience never would have guessed. Despite stumbling over some lyrics and a little trouble with unfamiliar instruments, they sounded great with powerful harmonies and enthusiasm for their music.

Next up was Cletus and the Barnburners. They started their set by dancing and jigging through the crowd, playing the banjo, fiddle, mandolin and guitar. The bass player dragged his instrument around more than anything else.

The Barnburners’ performance suffered because they decided to play standing in front of the stage, as opposed to on it, using microphones. The nature of the setting meant that it was very hard to hear them, especially with the audience members crowding around as if they were watching a street performance. The set turned into more of a party with a band than a concert.

Despite this problem, their show was fun and entertaining. It did seem to run rather long, however. Due to delays in the Redmond Band’s schedule, the Barnburners played for more than an hour. They finally danced off to the exit, still hopping and skipping (and in the bassist’s case, lugging).

The Sim Redmond Band took the stage and kicked the performance off with their reggae/straight rock that can be accurately described as the kind of music one listens to when one is feeling good on a sunny day. Lead singers Sim Redmond and Uniit Carruyo crooned to the crowd, which, at its largest didn’t fill in more than half of the venue. Their sound was a mix between Rusted Root and Tom Petty, and the people attending inhaled it.

Speaking of the crowd, it was, at times, more fun to watch than the bands. Whether people were under the influence of any substance is debatable, but it doesn’t really matter. A dozen or so individuals danced and swayed in the back of the room away from the crowd pushing the stage. There were people hopping and swooping. A few were doing flips and cartwheels. One or two dancers were spastically jerking around the room. A pair of toddlers rolled around on the floor, though at times they seemed more interested in tackling a couple of dreadlocked men, climbing on them and hanging off of their dangling locks.

Aside from the live bands, there were displays of photos taken by various aspiring artists in hopes of winning a “best nature picture” contest. Information was also provided about opportunities in the upcoming week pertaining to the Earth Week celebration.

Despite those trappings, the night’s atmosphere was carefree and celebratory. Everyone was there to rejoice in Mother Earth.