Locally owned and operated alternative radio station CD101 will be hosting its annual celebration of the 101st day of the year Saturday.

The festival is designed to give back to the community, providing a concert of six bands all for the price of $5.

“What we try to do each year is really an appreciation show for the listeners,” said Karac Ruleau, CD101’s promotions director. “If people are familiar with an artist, they can see them for a low cost.”

He went on to say the bands are unpaid, and the only money they make comes from merchandise sales. The cover price is just enough to pay for sound and lighting.
CD101 Day began in the 90s and was originally free of charge, Ruleau said. The celebration went away for a time before returning in 2004, and the festival has continued every year since.

This year’s lineup includes rock trio Crash Kings, eclectic Denver hip-hop group Flobots, Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro, British synth-pop artist Dan Black and local singer Colin Gawel with the Lonely Bones. Also, the alternative songwriters of “Jesus Stole My Girlfriend,” Violent Soho, will be performing.

Although there are six bands playing, none are scheduled to headline. The headliner is determined based on which song is requested the most, Ruleau said. Basically, listeners vote online for different artists’ songs featured on the air and whichever band earns the most votes gets to play last. The final performance is not announced in advance.
Every year, a number of CD101 Day artists will stop by the station’s studios to record stripped-down, acoustic versions of their songs. This year, all but the Flobots will record in what has been dubbed the Big Room.

Tickets to the studio performances are available only through the station, either by winning them on the air or from an online club called the Lounge.

Another tradition of the festival is a costumed mascot.

“There’s always a theme with the show — we kind of have an animal as a mascot. In ‘08 we had a gorilla. This year there will be a lion running around the crowd,” Ruleau said.
Some memorable performances in the past include Karate Coyote, the Killers and OK Go. Ruleau said OK Go had a particularly exciting performance because they played “Here It Goes Again” as if they were dancing on treadmills. The joke spawned from the band’s music video for the single, which received much adoration from fans.

The low cost is accredited to the station’s series of concerts known as Low Dough Shows. The series “started in 2000, for one dollar and one cent. People weren’t attending because they might have thought ‘oh it’s only a dollar so it must not be worth anything,'” Ruleau said.

In the end the price bumped up to $5, and attendance was on the rise. CD101 Day and SummerFest are the two annual Low Dough Shows, though others do happen throughout the year.

For more information on upcoming concerts, Low Dough shows and Big Room performances, visit cd101.com.