Rain forced last year’s annual Sinfest into the Adanti Student Center ballroom, a turn of events WSIN general manager Katie Roberge said led to increased student turnout.
This year, the decision was made for the event to be planned for the Student Center, something new for the traditionally outdoor event. The concert will be held in the ballroom Monday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. with no rain date, a luxury Roberge said she is happy to have.
“When we have bands traveling from an hour or two away, we don’t want to have to reschedule like we did last year,” said Roberge.
This year’s lineup will consist of Chalk Talk, an Indie/pop group; Obi, a local hip-hop artist; Kelsey—formerly of Kelsey and the Chaos—who has performed on Warped Tour; along with Casting Call, another Indie/pop group from New Haven.
Virginia Calcagni, WSIN promotions director, said the signing of bands can be difficult, but is very important to the success of the event. She said WSIN tries to bring in local bands who have a following of their own in the area already, while also bringing in the best possible talent from around Connecticut and surrounding states.
The lineup for the show touches on several genres of music, the goal being mass appeal in order to get as many in attendance as possible.
“We try to look for variety; we try to please everyone’s palette,” said Calcagni. “It’s our biggest event, it’s the biggest way to get our station out there and it’s free.”
Free popcorn and snow cones will be provided to those in attendance, along with tables selling merchandise for the bands. Calcagni said an invitation was also extended to Southern’s clubs and organizations to showcase other aspects of campus.
Discussions for possible performers began early in the semester, but Roberge said most of the planning comes down to the WSIN executive board over the month of October.
“Besides the times when we’re DJing events for other clubs and organizations this is really the biggest opportunity we have to showcase ourselves and what we can do for the students at Southern,” said Roberge. “This is the ninth year we’re doing it. Every year we’re looking to get bigger and better acts and to get as many people out as possible. It’s our main focus every year—to put on a good show.”