CHLOE KOWALYK
Managing Editor
The Local Lo-Down, a podcast at Fredonia Radio Systems, recently set the stage in a new way.
Instead of holding interviews with local artists and giving them an opportunity to play a live set on the radio like they usually do, The Local Lo-Down crew hosted a concert in collaboration with Foxhead Record Company.
Foxhead Record Company is a group of three SUNY Fredonia students: Felix Kellogg-Williams, Jacob King and Liam Powers. Together, the students work together to host local bands and artists at Main Street Studios, a rentable entertainment space in downtown Fredonia. They have held several shows this semester.
But for The Local Lo-Down, planning a live concert at a venue was totally new. And, according to the crew, the concert planning was an extensive process, especially considering the fact that The Local Lo-Down typically works on the journalistic aspect of the music scene.
Mel Fajardo, the show’s executive producer and promotions lead, said, “Although it was not something that we always had in the books, as we entered the fall semester, we realized we had closer opportunities and networks to make [a concert] happen.” She added, “Considering the whole point of our show is to promote local talent, why wouldn’t it be something [to] consider?”
The planning process began back in September.
“Our main thing with The Local Lo-Down was essentially raising money for the concert and getting an artist’s list and setlist together,” said Alex Erwin, the show’s technical director.
Foxhead was responsible for the venue itself and providing the live sound services.
To fundraise, The Local Lo-Down crew sold beanies, pins, stickers, masks, cassettes with tapings of their live episodes, painted records and posters. The crew made the pins, masks and cassettes themselves, and the poster was designed by another student, Angelo Petrilli.
The day of the concert, numerous students showed their support by wearing the beanies to class and the show that evening.
Not only did the crew fundraise by selling merch, but they also held two different video game competitions.
Students could sign up to play in a MarioKart tournament one week, and a Super Smash Bros tournament the next. Both tournaments were held at the Blue Devil Game Room in the Williams Center. There was an entry fee, but the winners won gift cards as a grand prize.
At the same time as their fundraising efforts, The Local Lo-Down team was also responsible for choosing which artists they’d like to feature in the show.
The group decided on Garden Closet, Second Suitor and P.S.You’reDead. All three bands are local and hadn’t appeared on The Local Lo-Down podcast yet. Additionally, each of the bands was a different genre.
“I was excited to have a mixed bill, and one that included pretty different types of rock music,” said Jordan Budd, the team’s artists and repertoire (A&R) lead. He is also responsible for finding different artists to feature on the podcast.
“I always find it cool to see people supporting a range of music within one night, rather than just one sound,” Budd said. “When the lineup was coming together that was one of my fav parts because it was one I could really get behind.”
The show itself was extremely popular, with tons of students coming in and out of Main Street Studios. Garden Closet started off by getting the crowd excited for the night, playing a set that got everyone moving.
Second Suitor changed the game, starting a large mosh and dance circle. Every concert-goer was moving, and the crowd came alive.
The show closed with a unique set from P.S.You’reDead. The bandmates jumped out into the crowd, swinging their guitars around and dancing with the crowd.
“My favorite part was bringing different genres of music to the venue,” Erwin said. “… It was a huge success. I’d say that the overwhelming majority of people liked the smattering of genres that we had at the show, and it was just a lot of fun to see people react differently to each band.”
The entire Local Lo-Down crew was excited to have had a successful show.
“My favorite part about putting together the concert was being able to plan it with my team,” Fajardo said. “It was amazing being able to have the rest of our Local Lo-Down team help plan it together, from coming up with merch, fundraising and promotion ideas. I am very happy with how it turned out.”
Elena Fitzgerald is a member of the promotions team for The Local Lo-Down. She went to the concert, and said,
“It was a great time with friends, and I got to hear a lot of new bands that I wouldn’t have heard before.”