By Alicia Henry
Correspondent
WTSR 91.3, the College’s radio station, held its semi-annual WTSR Underground event on Sept. 21 and 22. The two-day event occurred in the Kendall Hall TV Studio in partnership with the College’s television club, Lions Television.
With 10 local indie and alternative bands from the tri-state area performing, audience members were able to tap into the radio station's slogan and “open their minds” to new music they might have never heard before.
“We want to introduce people to artists they’ve never heard of, genres they’ve never heard of, or they didn't think they’d like,” said Kelly Siobhan, a senior communications major. “It’s about, I guess, introducing yourself to something new.”
Delaney Smith, a senior political science and journalism double major, added, “I really want people to take away that small independent music is so amazing and it’s so heartfelt and you get something with these small artists that I don’t think you can really get anywhere else.”
Saturday’s show opened with The Kennedy Curse, an Arizona native band that delivered an energetic metal and pop punk performance.
Straight from Totowa, New Jersey, were the next performers, Radar and Satellite. They switched the sound from pop punk to punk rock. Their electrifying sound left audience members wanting to scream and shout.
Super Jack then offered a cool and calm sound as the third performance of the day. The band recently released their new single “One Day,” which is now available to stream on YouTube.
In the middle of the fourth performance, a campus-wide power outage took place, temporarily stopping the show. This didn’t disrupt Monstertruck Firetruck’s spirit, though, as the alumni pushed through creating an even more memorable set. The College was the first stop of their 11 fall shows, ranging from New Jersey to Philadelphia.
The final band was Chasing Stars. The southern rock and 70s-inspired band featured their song “Traveler” as they closed out night one.
The event was not only fun for the audience members, but also for those working backstage.
“It’s really cool getting to see the whole thing come together and reaching out to all these bands,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t the one doing it, our music director Addie was the one doing that. I think it was really cool to see that interaction and see that collaboration there.”
Day two started off with a taste of indie and alternative music. Loveseat Pete returned to the College after performing as an opener for Peter McPoland last fall for a free concert hosted by the College Union Board.
Next up was a Cherry Hill band, Drastic Measures. Starting in 2021, the punk band recently came out with a new album titled “Drastic Lake,” which is now out on Spotify.
To throw something completely different in the mix was South Jersey band Swansun. Rather than the high energy of rock, Swansun played a relaxing set to ease the mind.
The fourth performance of the day was Snowman Fight. This Philadelphia band did not disappoint with an emo-punk performance you could feel through your bones.
To end off the final night, all the way from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was the Trash Tapes. Under Trash Tape Records, the band produces a variety of music, and it was a great way to bring the Fall 2024 WTSR Underground to a close.
The event proved to be successful, with some audience members returning to show their support for WTSR again.
“I always like coming to Underground,” said Freya Sewell, a sophomore history major. “I went last year, and I have a friend in one of the bands.”
