Evanston SPACE, a music venue and bar in Evanston, reached out to WNUR to organize an event to attract a younger crowd. What came of this was the experimental concert, “WNUR x Evanston SPACE: Musaic Vol. 1,” organized by Jeremiah Smith, WNUR’s Programming Director, and Madeline Higgins, Executive Board Member and DJ. The two curators invited bands from the greater Chicago area: The Walters, mtvghosts, Slushy and BPO, a group comprised of Northwestern’s own Mariam Al Askari, Tommy Carroll, Karl Maher, Emai Cepeda. Streetbeat DJs, TUPLETT, Cam & Rudy ( DR.JECKYL & MR.GOON) and MARC SHIQUAN also represented WNUR with sets before, between, and after band performances.
SPACE wanted the concert to attract at least 60 people, with the event’s success determining future collaborations between WNUR and the Evanston venue. Experience the event through photos and captions below:

SPACE, a music venue in Evanston collaborated with WNUR 89.3 FM for the first time on Friday. According to Jeremiah Smith, WNUR’s Programming Director and curator for the event, SPACE reached out hoping to attract a younger crowd. //Harris

“WNUR x Evanston SPACE: Musaic Vol. 1” was an event for all ages and with a cover, SPACE needed at least 60 people to show up in order to cover base costs. (Pictured: Tanairi Herrera, a fan of The Walters) //Harris

The Walters, a Chicago-based band, were the first on stage. Luke Olson (center), lead vocals of the band, said that the SPACE venue was top quality and that it was the best place they’ve played at so far. //Harris

Attendance was a huge factor in determining future partnership between SPACE and WNUR and the curators hoped that many of the bands could draw their fans to the event. Mtvghosts (pictured above), a band from the Chicago area, has over 900 followers on their Facebook page alone. //Harris

In addition to the pop-rock Chicago bands, curators also invited BPO. BPO is a Northwestern-based band that creates ambient sounds using instruments like bongos and synthesizers. //Harris

Madeline Higgins, curator, arranged for student DJs from Streetbeat, a segment of WNUR programming that specializes in underground, hip hop, house and electronic music, to play in-between bands. The DJs also closed the show at the end of the night with dance-worthy beats. //Harris

After their performances, band members and DJs (pictured: The Walters) hung out backstage before joining the audience in listening to other bands and sets. //Harris

“The SPACE event was probably the best event I have been to in my time here at Northwestern,” says Brock Stuessi, 18, an audience member. “A lot of great venues in Chicago are 21+ so it's a big deal to have another all-ages venue in the area.” //Harris

Smith says that the bands they chose to highlight at the event, such as the Chicago-based group Slushy (Pictured: Lead guitar and vocals Chris Kramer), may not be well-known to a “mainstream” audience. “But it’s the nature of the beast,” he said. “It isn’t the goal of WNUR to appeal to everybody.” //Harris

According to Higgins almost 300 people came to event. And eventually WNUR met the venue again when Streetbeat hosted a concert on behalf of the Modern Dance Music Research & Archiving Foundation a month later. //Harris

Bonus

And if you didn’t get enough, check out these bonus photos. Remember to stay tuned for announcements and coverage on events like this one.

All images via Lauren Harris.