Ryan Morgan
WSIN, Southern’s radio station, is ready to host its biggest event next week. Kaitlin O’Brien, general manager of WSIN, said she hopes the concert will catch the attention of the Southern community.
“It’s the biggest event we put on every year,” said O’Brien. “I think it promotes the station. If people don’t know about the station, this lets them know about it.”
SINFEST is scheduled for Monday Sept. 27 at 3 p.m. on the grass outside Connecticut Hall. Katie Roberge, program director, said the site was picked with the idea that commuters walking past Farnham, as well as residents, will see the event and want to come see what the big stage is.
“With the increase of social media this year, especially Twitter, we’re aiming for a good crowd,” said O’Brien.
“SINFEST is never a huge concert where the whole campus comes, but we’re aiming for 100 people.”
This year’s bands include Political Animals, Jacobi Wichita, The Down and Outs and Two O’Clock Courage.
Each will play a 45-minute set. Matt Swain, band member of Jacobi Wichita, says the band is excited to be a part of the event and to make new friends. Swain described how big the use of social media made one of their shows in Wisconsin.
“We headlined a show out there and had a packed house,” said Swain. “Apparently everyone heard about us through Facebook and MySpace. Internet is amazing.”
During the show, WSIN will be giving out free CDs, in addition to snow cones and popcorn. In between sets, the station will host a game show.
Roberge said the station’s production director was able to get in touch with the bands quickly and easily over the summer to play at the event.
“We try to get bands that are pretty well known. Normally people seem to know at least one of the four names,” said Roberge.
SINFEST is not the only event O’Brien has up her sleeve this semester. She said she wants to collaborate with other groups and media on campus, including SCSU TV. While plans are not set in stone, O’Brien wants to hold a variety of events this year, including an open mic night.
“The difference this year is the people that came to the first meeting,” said O’Brien. “People seem really into the station, so we should have lots of shows. SINFEST is a big event but my goal as general manager is get us out there more.”
Roberge wants other organizations to remember to contact the station to DJ when they’re holding an event, despite the changes in Southern policy this year.
“We can no longer DJ events outside, unless it is during community hour,” said O’Brien. “Even if there is an all-day event, we can only come down from 1-2, because students complained about not being able to focus in class.”
In addition to new events, the station will feature a variety of shows on air, both new and old. Katie Zold’s popular show Dead Air will return this year on Wednesdays from 8-10 p.m. as the station’s current longest-running show. O’Brien encourages more people to come in and join the station.
“The big thing about the organization is as long as you adhere to FCC regulations you can come here and talk on the radio for an hour about what you want,” said O’Brien.
Although many people came to first meeting, Roberge stresses the importance of having members who want to play a strong role.
“You usually get a little handful of dedicated people who come out, besides our e-board,” said Roberge. “But it’d be great if we could expand that handful.”
O’Brien, too, said she wants to put WSIN on the map this year through shows and events with the help of dedicated members.
