A cloudless sky welcomed the eighth annual Folk Fest last weekend, and the good weather lasted throughout the two days of live music. Students were sprinkled across the lawn in Tappan Square doing homework, chatting or just listening to the many talented artists that crossed the stage.

Student acts were diverse, from poetic singer/songwriters to rambunctious string bands. Many had written their own songs; songwriters’ subjects varied from Alfred the duck (“never a duckling or a wife”) to self-discovery in London (“God save the queen, and if you’re listening, would you save me, too”). Mostly well-chosen standards completed each act, drawing from the grand archive of folklore and folk songs. Guitars, violins, string basses, saws, banjos, mandolins and many other instruments made appearances in the dexterous hands of student artists.

Headliner We’re About 9 played a remarkably short set Friday night. However, the length of their performance did not dictate its quality. Band members Katie Graybeal and Brian Gundersdorf extracted themselves from the group temporarily to play in Oberlin. Despite a decrease in numbers, the duo held true to the band’s strength in vocal harmonies.

With Gundersdorf on the guitar and Graybeal on the bass, an energy was created within the bond of the instruments’ codependent relationship. The two fed off each other’s enthusiasm. They had a playful stage presence, pointing out their “choreography” in the song “Grasshopper” and telling stories about their early musical endeavors.

Saturday brought Beyond the Pale and accordion solos. The band’s folky version of Mozart near the beginning of their set was almost too eclectic; it was musically sound, and impressive enough, but somewhat confusing. They followed this diversion with several original pieces. An award-winning composition by mandolinist Eric Stein felt much more cohesive, maximizing the band’s talent by integrating each instrument into the line of the melody. The band was overheard making plans to jam with student bands after the show.

Closely following Beyond the Pale was Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, a jazzy folk band from New England. The band’s most obvious strength is its vocals — all four members sing and at times each takes part of the melody. Drummer Scott Kessel gives the group added personality with his use of the “drum ship enterprise,” a homemade drum kit composed of tin cans, cardboard boxes and a suitcase.

The group lacked originality at moments, collapsing completely into a fine-tuned style that seemed to break the rhythm of the festival slightly. Ballad “Finland” was somewhat exemplary, pointing out the band’s neutrality in a mellow ballad that was forgettable.

Folk Fest attendees left with plenty of memories after the performance of seasoned singer and songwriter Richard Shindell. His set spoke to the simplicity that folk style often needs, often featuring a Shindell solo on the guitar or bazookee, and the wonderfully expressive Radoslav Lorkovic on the keyboard or accordion.

“Fenario,” a borderline haunting song from Shindell’s most recent album, set the mood of the show. His tunes were story-telling songs, giving off semi-political messages and addressing humanity through descriptions of family. Playing an especially emotional “There Goes Mavis,” a song that involves much flying-away imagery, Shindell produced a wave of nostalgia that shook many senior students in the audience.

Although he was at the end of a long tour, Shindell seemed peppy enough, relating anecdotes from the journey in his rented purple Cadillac. Wrapping up, he played the Townes Van Zandt tune “Pancho and Lefty” as a special Ohio encore.