During this time of year, as the semester winds down, students begin to stress about finals, projects and papers. The Laughing Prairie Dog Festival, taking place tonight at the Canopy Club in Urbana, offers a break from the grind of the end of the semester in the form of live music.

“We wanted to plan the festival close to finals so people would have something to do besides schoolwork,” said Liz Rush, the program director for WPGU and an organizer of the festival.

The Laughing Prairie Dog Festival will be held for the first time this year and boasts a lineup including The Hood Internet, Headlights, Smoking Popes, Common Loon, Pet Lions and Santah. Admission to the show is $10.

The Laughing Prairie Dog Festival was not a spontaneous creation. Rather, it was the product of old, annual events like the Local Music Awards and Planet Fest that have since fizzled out.

“We were all reminiscing and trying to get an idea for a public event,” said Rush. “We wanted to create something we could do every year.”

Santah, a psychedelic, indie band based in Champaign and comprised of current and past and present students, is one of the headliners in the inaugural festival.

“We’re really, really stoked to be included,” said Stan McConnell, the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band. “It’s always cool for people to unite under the common title of music.”

The band was started four years ago at the University of Illinois and although they perform 50 to 60 times each year, they have been busy with their new album and are especially eager to perform at the festival.

“It’s always special when someone tries to throw a festival, from the biggest ones to the smallest,” said McConnell.

The inaugural Laughing Prairie Dog Festival cannot escape comparison to the ever-expanding Pygmalion Music Festival, which just wrapped up its fifth year in September. More than 10 campus venues play host to close to 100 acts including Iron and Wine and The Books as well as some bands in the Laughing Prairie Dog Festival, including Santah.

“The presence of Pygmalion on campus is nothing short of a miracle,” said McConnell. “Any additional festival that even comes close to that, that people take seriously would be amazing for the Champaign-Urbana music scene.”

Although expanding and continuing the Laughing Prairie Dog Festival is a long-term goal, there are other goals for festival organizers.

“The goal is to at least break even,” said Tommy Trafton, the editor-in-chief of Buzz Magazine and keyboardist for Santah. Another reason Trafton and Santah decided to play the show was because “the lineup is good and we are on the same bill with bands we have never played with.” He also expressed interest gaining new fans and putting on an enjoyable show.

To continue this as an annual event, a process of selecting bands to perform will be undertaken each year. Seth Fein, a booking agent for the Nicodemus Agency, came up with a demographic of bands that would fit well into the lineup, Rush said. Their idea was to get three local bands and three other bands that would bring diversity to the festival. The Hood Internet’s music includes mash-ups of popular songs, while the Smoking Popes play punk music. Santah, McConnell believes, fits somewhere in the middle.

“Santah will be one of the weirder acts,” said McConnell, “but hopefully one of the memorable acts.”

As hopes about the future of the Laughing Prairie Dog Music Festival continue to grow, event organizers such as Rush have their hearts set on a band to perform next year.

“We wanted to book U2 this year,” she said, “but they were too busy and unwilling to play for $200. Maybe next year.”