Aggie Radio to host station’s ‘main event’
USU students interested in local music can attend Aggie Radio’s annual music festival, the Big AGG Show, an outdoor concert event from 4-11 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7 on the TSC patio.
“Everytime I come to one of these, I leave with a new favorite band,” said Brady Stanger, a station manager at Aggie Radio and a senior studying international business.
He said the Big AGG Show is the station’s main event in the fall, opposite of its main event in the spring, the Logan City Limits festival. This is Stanger’s second year helping to organize the show, and he said it’s been a work in progress for four or five months.
“I absolutely love Aggie Radio,” he said. “I did radio in high school and at my junior college I went to, and so far Aggie Radio is probably my favorite program out of all of them.”
Stanger said he is looking forward to the event and is most excited to see local rock band Bronze Museum.
“Bronze Museum is a local band here on campus,” he said. “They’re all really talented. They can basically pick up any instrument and start playing.”
Stanger said he thinks the main draw for students is the opportunity to hear all the local artists, including three bands made up of students who attend USU. The event will also feature a local hip-hop group, which has been signed with an independent label.
The bands featured will share their unique musical approaches, and some can be considered melting pots of local music projects.
“The genres actually range pretty widely,” said Toban Knight, music director at Aggie radio and a senior studying geology. “We’ve got Cat Fever, which is really cool because it’s like members of Good Blood and then Raccoon Dog, so it’s a bunch of these cool musicians that have played in other bands before, but they’ve gotten together to produce brand new music.”
Other local groups include pseudo-pop-punk band September Say Goodbye and mellow indie band Little Barefoot.
“Then, in between the main sets, we have these acoustic sets,” Knight said. “Those are a bunch of local students from Logan who are looking for some exposure and it gets them on Aggie Radio.”
Since fall 2012, Knight has been responsible for booking all the performing talent. He has also organized a task-force of new disc jockeys to help spread the word and advertise the event, as well as take care of the bands once they arrive on campus.
Alicia Facer, a junior studying broadcast journalism, was involved with Aggie Radio last year and has plans to be a DJ again next semester.
“I’m excited because it’s a great way for the student body to come together and for Aggie Radio to continue to get their name out and achieve recognition,” Facer said. “Also, it is a great way for students to get involved in something right here on campus and to be involved in something great.”
Knight’s biggest worry about the event is having a band cancel at the last second, but he has learned from past experience to always have a backup band to prevent an empty spot between sets.
Knight said he is really looking forward to the event’s headliners, Polytype and Golden Sun.
“Both these bands are super cool,” Knight said. “Polytype and Golden Sun are both bands that have really put in a lot of time and effort – and money – in producing new music, and they put on a really good show. They have an awesome stage presence.”
Knight and the team at Aggie Radio are hoping for a large turnout from students, drawn by the organization’s new methods of advertising.
“This year, we’ve actually had a marketing director,” Knight said. “They teamed up with ASUSU students that have helped us advertise for the show, so we’re expecting a bigger turnout than we’ve had in the past.”
The headlining bands are on tour and both will be debuting previously unheard material. Knight said he is confident it is going to be an excellent show.
“I just want students to know that this is going to be a super fun event,” he said. “It’s free, it’s open to students in the community and the bands are going to put on a really good show.”
Knight said he has been enthusiastic through the preliminary processes and looks forward to the day full of “folktronica,” rock, mellow electronic music, indie rock and more.
“I’m anxious to see a bunch of new students out enjoying the music and seeing our new DJs getting involved,” he said. “I’m pumped.”
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