By Pranathi Chitta
Staff Writer

The annual iTunes Festival as SXSW in Austin is very popular among students. Students strive to go to this great event and sophomore Martha Vertti got a chance to experience this.

Vertti went to Austin on Mar. 11 to see her favorite band, Coldplay, perform.

“I entered a contest on their website a few weeks ago, thinking that I wasn’t going to win. I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to see my favorite band live,” Vertti said.

This was the first time Vertti attended the iTunes festival, but has attended Coldplay concerts in the past. During their performance, Coldplay played ‘Always in my Head’, ‘Charlie Brown’, ‘Paradise’, ‘Magic’, ‘Clocks’, ‘Another’s Arms’, ‘Viva La

Vida’, ‘Atlas’, ‘Every Teardrop is a Waterfall’, and their new song, ‘Midnight’.

“Coldplay is always amazing live. I was blown away, especially during the song ‘Midnight’, (their newest song), which I thought was hard for them to perform because of the high notes,” Vertti said, “Chris Martin and the band never disappoints.”

Vertti also experienced other parts of the festival in Austin before seeing Coldplay.

“I got to know underground artists that were playing downtown, and we got a chance to see the city as well. It was pretty crowded and chaotic, but it was a refreshing experience,” Vertti said.

Vertti had floor seats to see Coldplay, but she also saw other performers who she did not see before.

“I also had the chance to see Imagine Dragons and London Grammar since they were opening for Coldplay. It was a pretty intimate experience since only a few hundred people had passes to see them perform live,” Vertti said.

After watching her favorite band perform and a thumbs up from Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin, Vertti was satisfied and happy going to her first iTunes festival.