YOUNGSTOWN — Federal Frenzy celebrates its 10th year on Saturday, and its second edition on Youngstown’s East Side.

Last year’s event moved to Penguin City Brewing, Youngstown Flea and East Federal Street because of downtown construction. Despite the first phase of that work being completed, organizers decided to keep the free outdoor music and arts festival on East Federal Street for a second year, according to Erin Driscoll, executive director for student experience and residence life at Youngstown State University and adviser for Penguin Productions.

“Initially, we expected to go back to the west end of Federal Street, but based on the other projects that still needed to be completed, we felt like there were a lot of variables that were still at play,” Driscoll said. “One thing that’s important to us about planning Federal Frenzy is it’s a team of students who are doing this. At Penguin Productions, we have about 20 students — all volunteers — who are learning on the job, learning business skills, event planning skills, marketing skills as part of their involvement with Penguin Productions.

“We felt it was very important that we knew the parameters — what was the city going to look like on that day? How would attendees be able to get to our event? How were the bands going to be able to load in and load out? — and we just felt like there was a lot of construction still at play on the west side for us to move back this year.”

One of the ideas behind Federal Frenzy when it started was to expose both YSU students and those outside the city to what downtown Youngstown has to offer. And with the exception of Penguin City, most of the nightspots and restaurants are located on the west end or around Central Square.

“Especially with the pandemic lag and the construction lag, there are a lot of people who haven’t been downtown in a long time,” Driscoll said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get on the other side of that, and we can reintroduce people to all of the things downtown.”

Even with keeping the location the same, visitors will notice many changes for the 2024 edition. Last year’s event featured a stage and vendors market at Youngstown Flea. The large parking lot between the Flea and the main stage on East Federal Street and the two stages inside Penguin City isolated those attractions from the bulk of the event.

Penguin Productions still is working with Youngstown Flea, but the vendors market and the second stage now will be located in Penguin City’s parking lot, Driscoll said. Penguin City paving its lot made the move possible. An expanded lineup of food trucks also will be set up in that parking lot.

“We’ll have music bouncing back and forth between the two (outdoor stages),” she said. “Starting at 2:15, we’ll essentially have music until 11 o’clock that night right outside, and it will be easy for people to hope back and forth between the two indoor stages (inside Penguin City).”

Those four stages will feature 26 acts throughout the day, mostly local and regional acts, many featuring current and former YSU students.

This year, Penguin Productions received twice as many applications to perform than it had time slots to fill.

“The talent team, a group of YSU students, listens to all of those submissions and really thinks through what would be a good mix of genre, student bands, community bands, what’s feasible in the space we have,” Driscoll said. “Also, The Summit (public radio station) is one of our stage sponsors, so we worked with (Program Director) Brad Savage about what bands would be a good fit for their stage … We want to make sure we’re opening up opportunities for new bands. I feel excited about the entertainment and the lineup we’ve put together.”

This year’s headliner is Bully, a Sub Pop Records act fronted by Angie Bognanno. The band, which formed in Nashville, was part of the very first Federal Frenzy in 2015 as the opening act on the main stage. A few months later, Bully made its national television debut on Conan O’Brien’s talk show, and in recent years Bully has gained radio exposure and streams with songs such as “Lose You” and “Days Move Slow.”

“As we looked at who now is at that level as an artist — getting more airplay, traveling, touring, playing more festivals — Bully is an act that is really on the rise,” Driscoll said. “It’s a lovely testament to that journey from an opening act to now being our headliner. To have her back on our stage for our 10th year is really special.

“We’ve talked through the years about diversity and the variety of acts we bring to the headlining spot, and this is our first female headliner, and it’s nice to be able to offer that.”

The event has switched locations and endured two years of online-only editions because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but one thing hasn’t changed in a decade — Federal Frenzy still is free to attend.

“We’re really proud of the way that it’s grown and stayed consistent to the mission of the event, which is to bring together the YSU community and the greater community and maintain it as a free, open-to-the-public event,” Driscoll said. “Certainly, for items within it, there is a cost, but I’m just glad we haven’t had to shift to a model where people have to pay to get in.

“We really want everyone to feel welcome and come together for a day to celebrate. We have a lot of good things in our community, and it’s a great way to showcase them.”

If you go …

WHAT: Federal Frenzy

WHEN: 2 to 11 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: 400 block of East Federal Street and Penguin City Brewing Company, Youngstown

HOW MUCH: Admission is free, although the public can make a $25 donation to become a Friend of the Frenzy and receive a T-shirt that lists all of the acts who have performed at the event over the years. For more information, go to ysu.edu/student-activities/federal-frenzy

PARKING: Attendees are encouraged to park at Youngstown State University’s Wick Avenue parking deck (the cost is $5), and a free shuttle service will be available between the deck and the festival site until midnight.

The schedule

Main Stage (East Federal Street)

2:15 p.m. – The Knockouts

3:20 p.m. – Hywater

4:20 p.m. – Wine & Spirit

5:25 p.m. – Yacobucci

6:25 p.m. – Madame Marlowe

7:30 p.m. – Katy Robinson & the Wanderers

8:55 p.m. – Goners

10 p.m. – Bully

The Summit FM Stage (Penguin City parking lot)

2:45 p.m. – Easton Union

3:50 p.m. – Angie Haze

4:50 p.m. – Riley Burke Band

5:55 p.m. – Black Wolf & the Thief

7 p.m. – Big Pop

8:05 p.m. – JD Eicher

The Platt! Stage (Penguin City taproom)

2:15 p.m. – Wednesday Demonstration

3:20 p.m. – Phatz Elliott

4:20 p.m. – The Crxssing

5:25 p.m. – Chris Lombardi

6:25 p.m. – Franklin Dead Rose

7:30 p.m. – The Berrys

The Jambar Student Media Stage (Penguin City Pollock Ballroom)

2:45 p.m. – Ohayo

3:50 p.m. – Drake Morris

4:50 p.m. – Dave Buker

5:55 p.m. – Lauren Brabson

7 p.m. – Andrew Slater & the Wickies

8:05 p.m. – Nick Aducci