Every year local radio station CD101 puts on a festival of epic proportions, and this year was no different.
The annual CD101 Day took place Saturday night at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion, hosting five bands and a roaring crowd of fans.
The event requires much time and planning on the part of the CD101 radio station. Karac Ruleau, promotions director for the radio station said the show is both a “celebration of the 100th day of the year and an appreciation concert for all our listeners.”
The radio station shows their appreciation by booking multiple bands with rising status and only charging the public a mere $5 to attend.
This year’s band selection was no exception, featuring Columbus natives The Whiles, San Francisco group Von Iva, garage rock band The Whigs, reggae rock band Zox, and two bands all the way from England, The Duke Spirit and Switches.
The bands who perform these shows are unpaid, and the only coin they walk away with is what they sell from their merchandise. Despite the minimal pay, rising bands have longed to be a part of CD101 Day. Take the 2004 show, when a little known band begged the station to allow them a slot on the set list. The station agreed and much to their surprise, barely a month after the show the little known band from Las Vegas known as The Killers were selling millions of records around the world.
Karac Ruleau claims there has never been a bad experience with any of the bands they book.
“The groups are all new bands, so there’s no jadedness,” Ruleau said.
Each of the bands in attendance seemed very excited to play the show Saturday evening. The Duke Spirit’s flight was canceled on the way in from Illinois, forcing the band to brave a nine hour road trip just to make it to Columbus in time to play.
Switches, who were in Columbus in February with The Bravery, claim that Columbus is their “favorite city to play in,” because of the wonderful responses they receive from fans in the city.
Saturday night was a true testament to fan appreciation, as hundreds of people packed into the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion to listen to this varied lineup of bands perform to cheers and applause.
“Without (the listeners), this station doesn’t happen,” said Andy Man, a promotions director for the station. He gave a loving speech to those loyal listeners who came to the station for one of the fabled acoustic “Big Room” performances before CD101 Day.
“We really appreciate everyone coming out and supporting the bands and our station, and as long as (the listeners) will come, we’ll supply some great music.”
Alexandra Coleman can be reached at [email protected].
