The event is expected to turn out an audience of about 200 people, with 150 already registered online for tickets. A handful of tickets remain to be given out on air. Students coordinating the event worked to reunite bands from the Triangle area that have frequented the airwaves over WXDU's lifetime. The concert aims to reflect the station’s combined community and student presence.
Staff advisor Brian Crews noted that the celebration will most likely appeal mainly to those involved with the station’s past. “The thirtieth anniversary show probably resonates more with the community because a lot of the bands don’t exist anymore and weren’t in existence since students have been here,” Crews said. “Much like homecoming, it resonates with alumni and older people, but still there’s a student component…it’s a similar vibe.”
General manager Jake Cunnane, a senior, noted that the station has been a witness to the many changes the Triangle music scene has experienced in the past thirty years. “In the nineties, Chapel Hill and this area was kind of a nexus for a certain kind of indie rock. Now we’ve got really big indies located in Durham,” Cunnane said. “So there’s punk, there’s more roots and psychedelic stuff, but the turnover is constant.”
In addition to musical talent, Cunnane said the station has been instrumental in nurturing student initiative. He called the station an “educational institution,” noting that it embraces the chance to expose students to a world of which they may not otherwise be aware.
Cunnane identified himself as a student who entered Duke with little understanding of the independent music scene. “When I first got involved, there were only a few undergrad DJs. Now I know people...it’s been awesome to watch that network spring up, especially because it includes community members. It’s not just like a little Duke bubble,” Cunnane said.
This partnership between community and students is vital to WXDU’s mission, Crews said. This connection is evident in Crews’s involvement as a DJ. He mentioned this opportunity as one of the reasons he came to the University––the hands-on involvement appealed to him.
Events coordinator Sharrin Manor, a sophomore, said the selection of bands for Saturday’s event reflects the station’s collaborative environment. Many of the reunited bands are comprised of former DJs and Duke students who have returned to the Triangle area either to live or simply to attend this event.
Manor added that the selection of the Coffeehouse as the venue is very deliberate. The eatery has served as a venue for many of the featured bands’ concerts, making it a musical homecoming of sorts.
“The last time Jet Rink or Pine State played at the Duke Coffeehouse was 10 years ago, and they almost burned it down—they set a bathtub on fire,” Manor said. “The bands have notoriously been Coffeehouse bands.”
Ultimately, said Cunnane, the event is about celebrating the station’s long history and involvement with the community. He hopes it will both expose students to something they may not have known about before and commemorate a station that has a lot of meaning to those who are aware or involved.
“It’s an event that happens on campus, but it does have this really strong sense of history and this strong sense of connection to Durham,” Cunnane said. “Once you get there, you can dig a little deeper.”
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