It was a lively scene Friday night at the Undergrounds, with around 125 music enthusiasts grooving to the tunes of student bands in celebration of World College Radio Day. To satiate everyone’s musical tastes, WHRW brought together everything from head-banging garage rock to mellow synthesizers.

This is the second year that college and high school radio stations dedicated Oct. 1 to celebrating the quality of college radio and its ability to catapult great new talent. World College Radio Day was founded in the U.S. in 2011 and expanded internationally last year. According to its website, collegeradioday.com, College Radio Day aims to “raise a greater, international awareness of the many college and high school radio stations that operate around the world.”

This is also the second year that Binghamton University is participating in the celebration. This year, WHRW went beyond simply promoting the event on the radio. Marisa Monte, public relations director at WHRW, said that being one of the biggest college radio stations on the East Coast encouraged them to set up a full-blown concert. The event featured Strange Appeal, Liberty Belle and the Union Boys, Mike Shapiro and Jesse Gillenwalters. Every musician that played Friday night was either a current student or recent graduate, showcasing the talent Binghamton has to offer.

“We thought it would be awesome to do something on our own to commemorate the day,” said Monte, a senior majoring in English. She also said college radio is “one of the more important ways for people who are in the music industry to get their practice.”

Kim Muller, a member of WHRW’s public relations team and a senior majoring in neuroscience, emphasized the concert as a collaborative effort between the radio station and student talent. She said she wants the concert to catch on as an annual event, since events like these are “intermediary between the local community and the campus community.” Collaborative efforts like this and the Off the Wall concert series demonstrate that people’s love and enthusiasm for up-and-coming bands surpass campus borders.

Strange Appeal, a three-man group, kicked off the concert with its upbeat guitar-driven set, getting the audience on their feet. One-man show Jesse Gillenwalters followed, changing the atmosphere to a mellower but equally enjoyable one by using a synthesizer and samples. Mike Shapiro performed a great acoustic set, showing off his skills as a songwriter and guitarist. Towards the end of his set, Mike brought up Gillenwalters and Laura Keim to collectively become a band named Collection Romantic Autumn, changing the set to a classic rock banger filled with impressive guitar solos. Then Liberty Belle and the Union Boys took the stage, cranking out some heavy garage rock that had heads bobbing furiously.

Laura Keim, frontwoman of Liberty Belle and the Union Boys and a junior majoring in music, gushed about all the stage time WHRW gave her band.

“They give me a million opportunities to play,” she said.

The WHRW College Radio Day concert was not only a fun night for students to enjoy the University’s musical talents, but it also emphasized how college radio is a great medium to find new bands and share new music. So if you haven’t listened to WHRW on 90.5 FM or online at whrw.org, make sure to catch it today and celebrate college radio with the world.