This weekend, WOBC-FM hosted Band-A-Thon, a musical event that spanned two days and four venues: the Cat in the Cream, The ‘Sco, Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, and Hanson’s Records. The event was inspired by WOBC’s 75th anniversary and spearheaded by WOBC Outreach Directors, College second-year Walker Prince and College fourth-year Alice Belshaw-Hood.
Traditionally, WOBC’s Outreach Board is responsible for programming their Block Party, an annual event highlighting Oberlin’s music and community. Partners from past iterations of Block Party were invited to collaborate on Band-A-Thon.
“Hanson’s Records had a stand at Block Party last year, where WOBC DJ Leo Dilloway played,” Belshaw-Hood said. “For Band-a-thon we asked Hanson’s about hosting a show in their new space, and Dilloway was able to perform again.”
The two days were carefully curated, with musicians from the community performing differentiated sets in the various venues around campus.
“It was cool to have different sections; there were harder bands playing at The ‘Sco and then amazing acoustic bands at FAVA, like the Banjo Society, they were fantastic,” Prince said. “And then at Hanson’s, it kind of became a little more experimental.”
“It was also really awesome to see such a wide range of music,” Belshaw-Hood said. “I think The ‘Sco show was as to be expected for people who know a lot of these student bands, and have seen them perform in that space, but it was really cool to see folk music in FAVA. And a lot of people I spoke to had never even been to FAVA before.”
WOBC collaborated with other organizations as well, including the Modern Music Guild and Oberlin Concert Board, who invited external artists Yuka Honda and Merce Lemon.
Band-A-Thon wasn’t just a weekend full of music, it was a fundraising event. At each event, WOBC raised money on behalf of Obies for Undocumented Inclusion’s UndocuFund and the El Centro Volunteer Initiative’s Scholarship Fund. Over the course of the weekend, WOBC raised $400 for OUI’s UndocuFund and $312 for ECVI’s Scholarship Fund.
“Everything revolved around a fundraiser, and that was our main intention; we wanted to raise money for a good cause,” Prince said. “That was the foundation for the event.”
“I’m a CAST major, and there are a lot of members of OUI in my department, so I knew that every year OUI hosts a gala for ECVI,” Belshaw-Hood said. “It just made a lot of sense to promote their funds at this time, especially after Trump’s inauguration. This is something that has impacted our community, and this organization is specific to Oberlin and Lorain.”
After years of tumult following the station losing its facility due to renovations in Wilder Hall, the WOBC board is motivated to use this occasion to rebuild their database of former DJs and string together WOBC’s vibrant history. Station Manager and College fourth-year Taso Mullen plans to host other celebratory events, which may include inviting station alumni back to campus.
“Oberlin has a very strong sense of community,” Mullen said. “One thing I love about WOBC is the connection between community members and students. There are a lot of community members who are still close and in contact with students who graduated years ago. This sets WOBC apart from a lot of other college radio stations. One of the main reasons that we get to broadcast 24 hours and are always on the air is because of the community members who are such a big chunk of our schedule.”
It seems fitting for 75 years of WOBC’s College and Community Radio to be celebrated with festivities that honor the truly unique relationships the station has fostered in Oberlin.
“As a senior, it makes me sad because I don’t really know when again in my life I’ll have an opportunity to put something like this together, or when I’ll have the time and energy and the space and the access to even being a part of radio in the future,” Belshaw-Hood said. “As the Outreach Board, we have an opportunity to go beyond the restrictions of radio.”
