Category Archives: Music

Unofficial Orientation 2021: Wes Music Scene

This is an update of hen’s coronavirus update of fern’s update of un meli-melo’s update of wilk‘s update of Maya‘s update of their post from 2015Q wrote about this in 2013 and 2014. Some things have changed, but the scene here is still ‘unique, zealous, and sweaty.’

This is part of our 2021 Unofficial Orientation Series. A quick reminder that you can check out the welcome post here and past years’ series here.

The more I talk to college kids at other schools, the more I realize how much the music scene at Wesleyan sets itself apart. Though we have them, we are not confined to house parties and bars — there’s music nearly every day, all week. Often, there’s so much music that you can’t possibly go to it all, but you try anyway.

Many student bands have gone on to greater things, like OvercoatsHeems (Himanshu Suri ’07) of Das Racist (Suri and Victor Vasquez ’06), Novelty DaughterAmanda Palmer ’98the RooksHenry Hall ’14 of Grand Cousin (RIP), AND MORE. It’s very special. What’s even better is that 95% of this stuff is totally free.

Right now large gatherings are still up in the air, but last year proves that Wes’ music can exist even in the era of social distancing. There were plenty of outdoor and virtual concerts the past two semesters, and that will surely continue this fall. Hopefully in the semesters to come the music scene will return even more to normal, so if you want to hype yourself up for that, read under the cut.

Round-Up: A Look at Spring Flings Past

Fare thee well, O kegs!

As this year’s Spring Fling fast approaches, I found myself looking back at old Wesleying posts about Spring Flings past. It all started with this absurdity, which I stumbled upon earlier this year. With little else to do now that my thesis is turned in, I decided to dig deeper and see what other fun/ny stuff I could find!

Here is the resulting round-up of interesting/notable Spring Fling-related posts. (Zach already did a deep dive into past performers, so I’ll stick to silly/snarky/spends-too-much-time-on-the-internet content I dug up on the blog.) Read on after the jump to find out what’s going on in the picture above and more!

WRP’s Advocacy Week: “Art and Migration”

Caroline Kravitz ’19 writes in:

Join us for Wesleyan Refugee Project‘s second annual ‘Advocacy Week’! Throughout the week, various artists and activists will be visiting campus to perform and speak about storytelling through art. Events include film screenings, panels, fundraisers, and performances by local artists. This week is intended to spark conversations both on and beyond Wesleyan’s campus about art as a form of activism, empowerment, or other times as exploitation. By raising these questions, we hope to re-examine our definitions of crisis, activism, art, and agency. We also hope to think critically about how we frame and engage with one another’s voices.

A brief outline of the lineup of events is as follows:

Mon. April 22nd:
‘Greening the Camps’ Conference call and lunch: 12-1pm
‘Another News Story’ Film screening: 7-8:30 pm

Tues. April 23rd:
‘Know Your Rights’ Training: 12:15-1pm
‘Art & Ethics’ Panel and dinner: 5:30-7pm

Weds. April 24th:
Film-Aid Short Film Screenings & Fundraiser Dinner: 6-8pm

Thurs. April 25th:
‘Matangi/Maya/M.I.A’ Documentary Screening: 7-8:30 pm

Fri. April 26th:
‘Post Advocacy Week Round Table Discussion’: 12-1pm

**Be sure to check out our flyer, in addition to individual facebook event pages/posts as next week approaches!**

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

Date: Monday, April 22 – Friday, April 26
Time and Place vary per event. Check out the Facebook Event for more information!

~ACTUAL~ SPRING FLING 2019 LINEUP!!!

[Updated 5/7/19, 12:05 PM by michelle]: Due to some apparent wishful thinking and quick posting, I assumed that Japanese Breakfast was headlining Spring Fling. Turns out, Japanese Breakfast is actually Act 1, Rico Nasty is Act 2, and Jay Crutch is headlining for Act 3. The post has been updated to reflect that.

As you may have seen, we experienced some technical difficulties with the website over the weekend. Luckily, we’re back up and running, and excited to share this year’s actual Spring Fling 2019 headliners (sorry to disappoint those of you who were really looking forward to the Wiggles): Jay Critch, Rico Nasty, and Japanese Breakfast!!!

The Spring Fling Committee has created a playlist (on Spotify and Apple Music) to introduce you to the headliners’ music. You should also read on after the jump to learn more about these artists, the opener (TBD), and what you have to look forward to on May 9!

Celebrating WESU 88.1 FM’s 80th Year – Lecture Series

WESU and the JCCP write in:

Beginning in the Spring of 2019, through the Fall of 2019, the JCCP and WESU will host a series of public events and activities to commemorate WESU’s history and impact, and further engage our community.

These events will start with a three part lecture series featuring special guest speakers and performers that WESU feels embody free form radio. The lecture series will be kicked off on April 18th from 7:00-8:30pm with  “Independent Media and the Power of Community Radio” a talk by Professor Kehaulani Kauanui. The second event of the three part series will take place from 6:00-7:30pm on Wednesday April 24th with a talk and performance from Akua Naru titled “College Radio, Women in Hip-Hop, and Black Culture in Contemporary America”. And the last event “Bringing African to American Public Radio“, a talk by Banning Eyre, will take place on April 25th from 5:00-6:30pm. All events will take place in the Ring Family Performance Hall (287 Washington Terrace Middletown, CT). You can find additional information on the WESU Facebook Page. Also be sure to follow WESU’s partner for this event Wesleyan Engage

Date: Thursday, April 18; Wednesday, April 24; Thursday, April 25
Time: 7:00-8:30 PM; 6:00-7:30 PM; 5:00-6:30 PM
Place: Ring Family Performance Hall (287 Washington Terrace)

Take Action for North End Youth: Meeting TONIGHT, Email, & Petition

Important event and action happening TONIGHT at 5:30 PM:

ATTENTION WESLEYAN STUDENTS AND GREATER PUBLIC: YOUR ACTIONS ARE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE YOUTH OF THE NORTH END & MIDDLETOWN

*IF YOU CAN’T ATTEND THIS MEETING, THERE ARE OTHER IMPORTANT STEPS YOU CAN TAKE (see: Email Banking & Petition instructions in the Facebook Event)*

MEETING: On February 27th, there will be a community meeting during which the proposed resolution will be considered by Finance & Government Operations Commission about which organization that will be given access to the building formerly occupied by the Green Street Arts Center will be announced. Currently it is between the Middletown Green Community Center (MGCC) and St. Vincent de Paul. We are urging that the building go to MGCC for the reasons listed in the email banking script. This City decision is crucial for ensuring the well-being of the youth of the North End and Middletown!!! Attend this community meeting to show your support for MGCC.

Date: Wednesday, February 27
Time: 5:30 PM
Place: Middletown City Hall (245 Dekoven Dr, Middletown, Connecticut 06457)
PETITION
Facebook Event

If You Want Your Event Posted to Wesleying, Read This!

A lot of this is recycled text (thx wilk) from recycled text from two years ago (thx Maya) from recycled text from three years ago (thx Samira), but here are some tips and guidelines for submitting your events!

HEY WESLEYAN COMMUNITY!

Did you know that we post events? Wondering if you should submit your event? Well, you should! Wesleying gets anywhere from 500 to 1,200 views per day as of late. Submitting your event to be posted here is good for ~exposure~ and also a way to reach different audiences than those reached by Facebook’s weird algorithm.

We love posting your events, but we get a lot of them. If you want your meeting/audition/application deadline/concert/thing posted to Wesleying on time, please use this form here. This time of the year is especially busy which makes our inbox quickly burst at the seams, so it helps if you submit your event at least 4 or 5 days in advance.

Much of this is elaborated from our event submissions policy, but here are some things you can do to make life easier:

Procrastination Destination: What Mariah Carey is doing right now

Welcome to the first installment of Procrastination Destination, where Wesleying provides you #content to get you through finals!

Mariah Carey in December

Like any good Wesleyan student during finals season, I’ve got Mariah on my mind:

On the day after Thanksgiving, Mariah Carey awakens from her slumber. Her eyelids flutter open and she takes a big breath in, stretching her arms and cracking her back. She senses the slight change in the air, a little spring in her step, and sees in the mirror that she looks about five years younger. Christmas is upon us, she whispers with a grin.

Rescheduled: Armand Hammer Concert + Seminar

From Nick Byers ’19:

Armand Hammer is a rap group made up of Brooklyn-based MCs ELUCID and billy woods. They make uncompromising, radical hip-hop music, best described, in their own words, as “An unsparing indictment of everything.” With beats both chaotic and sleek, and lyrics ominous and comic, their music has been rightly characterized as some of the most important experimental rap of the last decade.

Date: Saturday, December 1
Times: 6 PM (Seminar), 10 PM (Concert)
Places: The Resource Center (Seminar), La Casa (Concert)
Facebook Event