Lynandro Simmons – Managing Editor
For the 14th year, WSIN radio hosted its annual Sinfest. Sinfest is a fall concert open to the public with intentions of bringing local talent to perform in the Adanti Student Center. This year, WSIN decided to take a different approach with the concert.
“We tried to get a bigger presence on Twitter and other social media platforms,” said DJ Johnson, a senior journalism major.
Johnson, who was in charge of promotions for the event, said this year the focus was a larger online presence to attract students. From Instagram to Facebook, Johnson used every social media outlet possible to raise awareness for the event.
“We knew we were building from nothing,” said Johnson. “So we wanted to make this year as good as possible.”
Johnson said he has been with the radio station for three years, but this was the first year everybody was on the same page. WSIN radio also decided to change the musical direction of the performers at the event. In the past the acts were predominantly more rock oriented, but this year the radio decided to focus more on rap and r&b.
Wasionkey was one of the several acts to perform this year. The 25-year old artist from Bridgeport said he was happy to be performing at Southern. Wasionkey has already garnered a large local following and his song “Nobody” currently has over a million plus on Soundcloud.
“You would think you hit a million and be happy,” said Wasionkey, “but there’s so much work to do.”
“Castles,” an R&B song, and “LMAO,” a rap song, are two other songs by Wasionkey that have gained some traction.
Wasionkey said performing at Southern would provide a platform for his music to reach new ears. He also said performing in front of the audiences of other artists on Sinfest’s bill were to his advantage.
“It’ll help me connect with more people who weren’t aware of my music,” he said.
Gerald Isaac, the music director for WSIN radio, played a large part in gathering all the artists who performed at Sinfest. He contacted Kdos, the headliner, in addition to Wasionkey, Kenny Urban and Saykuro. Isaac’s effort in gathering the artists and Johnson’s promotional efforts led to a good turnout for Sinfest.
Nasir Smith, a freshman business management major, said he heard of the event through social media.
“Instagram, Twitter, a lot of people were speaking about it,” said Smith. All of the artists performing at Sinfest drew Smith’s attention, but he said he really came for the show’s headliner Kdos, an artist from Bridgeport.
“He’s from where I’m from,” said Smith.
Sinfest was held Friday night and still was able to draw a crowd. Smith said having it on Thursday could possibly bring more students out.
“A lot of people don’t be on campus on Friday nights,” said Smith.
Despite this, the change in musical direction and focus on social media promotions created a successful event. Johnson said he was fortunate to be a part of these changes.
“It took an old generation to leave for a new generation to come in,” said Johnson. “I just happened to be here when the new generation came in.”
Photo Credit: Lynandro Simmons
