KWCR hopes to bring live music to Weber State University campus through their new event, “In the Fishbowl.”
Named after the large glass window in its studio on the second floor of Shepherd Union, the radio station planned three concerts throughout the semester. The first one, with local musician Wyatt Goodwin, took place on Sept. 13, and the other concerts are scheduled for Sept. 27 and Oct. 11.
KWCR Station Manager Ivonne Camas said that when she entered her position, she knew she wanted the station to connect more with the Weber State and Ogden communities.
“I had noticed that we haven’t done a live event since the ‘80s,” Camas said.
The station has hosted a few live events in the last few semesters, including KWCR Fest at the end of the spring semester. Nathan McKnight, the promotions director, said the musicians picked for “In the Fishbowl,” like Goodwin, were ones previously considered to perform at KWCR Fest.
“We didn’t want to burden ourselves putting a big festival on every semester, and we also wanted to diversify a little bit,” McKnight said.
These concerts take place inside the studio rather than on a stage like a big festival. McKnight said they took inspiration from the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series, where artists perform live in a small office space.
Live audiences can watch from the hallway outside the studio window, referred to as the “fishbowl” by KWCR staff.
“We call it the fishbowl because people come and press their face up to it or tap on the glass. And sometimes you feel like a fish sitting there being watched,” McKnight said.
Additionally, the studio livestreamed the concert on Instagram and Twitch. McKnight said he hoped the livestream would encourage more people to attend in person for the next few “In the Fishbowl” concerts.
“We’re encouraging people to come to the station so they see our cute little aquatic-themed decorations, but we’re also trying to make it more online, too,” Camas said. “I know how hard it is. Sometimes you leave campus around two and you don’t want to come back.”
Camas said that realistically, even if there isn’t a large turnout, the event is still useful because it allows local artists to perform and allows KWCR students to use the skills they learn in their radio classes.
“So as long as we’re all working together, we all have fun and then the person still performs and we still have that, I’m happy,” Camas said.
Goodwin’s concert started at 5 p.m., and he performed a few of his songs, which he describes as “indie rock.” He said the concert went well and was very relaxing.
“All the people there are really nice, and they’re able to get things set up pretty well,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin said he played two of his favorite songs at the concert: “Me and My Girl” and “Fleetwood.”
His music is available on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud and YouTube. He is looking forward to an upcoming EP release at the beginning of October and hopes for an album release in February 2025.
