On Saturday, April 26, Villanova’s student-run radio station (WXVU) held its second annual festival. While it was supposed to be on Mendel Field, rainy weather forced the event into Jake Nevin Fieldhouse, but none of the musicians were deterred, and the lineup persisted for an exciting night of live music. The festival spanned from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and featured three bands: Bench Stealers, Back From Zero and Blue Ride.
Bench Stealers and Blue Ride are Villanova student bands, scouted by Promotions Director and junior Avery Stout, who put the event together. They were lined up to perform early in Stout’s planning process, as the event was completely new to her and she decided to get ahead.
“I had sent out a text to all of the WXVU DJs just because we’re already so involved in music on campus, it’s pretty likely that one of the DJs either knows someone that’s in a band or is in a band themselves,” Stout said. “I also sent out emails [and] created flyers posted on Instagram to find as many Villanova student bands as I could. And through that, I found two bands that were willing to play at the festival.”
Finding the other band, Back From Zero, was a more unique situation. Station Manager and junior MK Coolican remembered how members of the club had seen the band when they attended the International Broadcasting Awards in New York.
“We set up an interview on our broadcast and they agreed later on to come to Villanova,” Coolican said. “So, it was really cool to have a mix of bands because last year we were all Villanova and Drexel.”
The Brooklyn-based Back From Zero definitely offered something very different to the festival and gave students something new and fun to experience.
“My favorite part was obviously seeing the bands perform and everything come together after months and months of hard work and planning,” Stout said. “It just made me feel very relieved that everything worked out well.”
As exciting as the radio shows are, not much compares to seeing live music right in front of you, especially after putting so much work into producing the festival. Coolican also cited her favorite moment, focusing more on the support the bands received from the crowd.
“I thought it was really cool to just see the bands get supported by their friends. I mean when we have events, the DJs come out but especially for the Villanova bands, family and friends were there,” Coolican said. “Also, the merch tents were really cool to see. Back From Zero brought all their merch and we had a lot of stuff, as well.”
Beyond merch, another thing up for grabs on Saturday was Guayakí Yerba Mate. The sponsorship was spearheaded entirely by Stout, who is an ambassador.
“I just reached out to the local Yerba Mate ambassador and he gave us a bunch of free stickers and cases that we could use at the event, which was great,” Stout said.
Finding such a perfect partnership was somewhat of a relief after “a lot of sending out emails and hoping for a response,” according to Stout.
Despite the stresses of planning, though, Stout was very happy with the event and the turnout from Villanova students.
“We had all of the merch [and] all of the food ready,” Stout said. “The live broadcast went really well. The bands sounded great.”
She also mentioned another favorite moment.
“Seeing how much everyone loved the merchandise that I screen printed and put hours of work into [was my favorite moment],” she said. “It will be exciting to see them wear the merch around campus.”
WXVU is an important part of Villanova’s campus, and one that often rides under the radar. They broadcast 24 hours a day from their studio above Café Nova and run more than 40 shows each week. This festival might be a celebration of their work and the broader music community on campus, but they are here for students all year round.
“We’re always looking for new people, so I would tell people to take a risk,” Coolican said. “Especially with public speaking it can be scary, but it’s my favorite part of Villanova.”
WXVU has a variety of roles available for anyone looking to get more involved, on the air or off.
