Alyssa VanPelt-Cathcart, Staff Writer
On Wednesday, October 30th, in the Hunt Union Ballroom, WONY hosted a Halloween-themed event with students performing live with their band. WONY, according to their General Manager, has been a radio station on campus in the 1960s where they promote open-mindedness, the arts, inclusivity, and diversity. The General Manager is Josh Youngquist who has been with the club for three years now.
The rest of the eboard includes Dakota Keats (Business Manager), Marz Lezama (Production Department), Estephanie Gomez (Training Director), Isabel OBrycki (Events Director), Manny Katz (Programming Director), Magnus Chenel (Operations Manager), Mandy Metakis (Comm. Director), Faith Logue (Music Director), and Maya Marsich (PR Director). It is through the eboard and all of their members that WONY can host two events such as this one every semester.
The event itself featured three bands: The Sam Starr Band, The Flag That Burns, and The Witch. Sam Starr and his bandmates were available for an interview following their performance. The members of the band are Sam Starr (Music Industry, Junior), Olivia Melendez (Music Industry, Senior), Katie Patterson (Music Industry, Senior), and Dylan Purdy (Music Industry, Senior). When asked their genre, they said they are a mix of indie, R&B, and “Sam Starr” genre. They are a new band as they have only been playing together for a month now. However, both Olivia and Sam are involved with music elsewhere. Melendez is in another band titled “Canned Peaches” and Starr makes solo music. Both Canned Peaches and Sam Starr can be found on Spotify when searching for their names. The Instagram for Canned Peaches is @cannedpeachesny and the Instagram for Sam is @samstarrdotcom. On Sam Starr’s Spotify, he has his newly released album, “Homestretch.”
Although there was not an interview with The Flag That Burns and The Witch, information could be found using their Instagrams. The Flag That Burns is a Hard Rock band from NY featuring Steven, Aidan, Gavin, and Brandon. Their Instagram is @theflagthatburns. Additionally, The Witch is a NJ band that produces Rock & Heavy Metal music. The Witch’s Instagram is @thewitchnj. Both of these bands brought on more energy into the crowd creating an exciting environment, some students were even aggressively moshing in the front of the crowd.
Throughout the night and between performances, there was a costume contest going on. After The Sam Starr Band, they had people cross the stage and announce who they are and what their costume is. Some of the costumes include Beetlejuice, DoodleBob, Ford Worker, Jennifer’s Body, and several more. There were about twenty people competing in the costume contest. Then, during The Flag That Burns, members of the audience could vote for their favorite costume. Following the band’s performance, Josh Youngquist would announce the winner. Logan Rogers (Political Science & History, Junior) while dressed as DoodleBob won.
The members of WONY genuinely love their club. There is so much warmth and excitement amongst their members. Dakota Keats shared that she has met a lot of friends through WONY as it is such a community of loving music. Keats states, “No matter what your music taste is, there is a place for everybody in this club.” This sentiment would be shared by every member spoken to at Hallowony. OBrycki said it is a good outlet to meet people and network for future careers and Katz said that college radio is special because you become a family together.
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