WKNC, NC State’s student-run radio station, held its 14th annual Double Barrel Benefit concerts this weekend. Local artists played at Kings in downtown Raleigh across two nights. Audience members showed up from all over the Triangle area to support the radio station and enjoy live performances with friends.
Kings was packed full on both nights, as tickets sold out and audiences went over capacity. The concerts, which account for 12 percent of WKNC’s annual income, raised $8,000 this year.
Emily Ehling, a junior majoring in women and gender studies and the general manager of WKNC, was in charge of organizing the event. She found the success of this year’s Double Barrel Benefit overwhelming, as it exceeded the goals it previously set.
“I knew it was gonna be successful just because the community always shows up for us and we’ve always been so appreciative,” Ehling said. “Literally every year the Triangle helps us out so much by coming out, but this year has been beyond my wildest expectations. We sold out [Friday] night and went over capacity, and we’ve sold out [Saturday night] and we’re going over capacity.”
The first show on Friday featured music by DJ Paypal, Ace Henderson, ZenSoFly and Sand Pact, and the second night’s show featured music by Infinity Crush, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, See Gulls and a special reunion performance from Astro Cowboy.
Caroline White from Infinity Crush was the first to take the stage on Saturday. White usually performs with her friend, Derek. They work and write their songs together. She is currently working on producing a new record and found performing at Double Barrel Benefit a laid-back and fun experience.
“I think it’s cool that they’re trying to build up a community of music in North Carolina, and I totally support that,” White said. “I feel like there’s not enough cool music stuff going on, and I hope that there’s more.”
Meredith Biechele, a senior studying mechanical engineering, said that the Double Barrel Benefit is a cool opportunity to learn about new music, as WKNC has a wide variety of options.
“There’s a lot of people here, and I didn’t know that this is such a big event,” Biechele said. “It’s really cool that they do this. I kind of wish it was closer to campus, because we had to drive out here, but it’s still really cool.”
Travis Harrington, a junior studying English with a concentration in creative writing and the lead singer of Astro Cowboy, felt great about his band’s performance, and said that the Double Barrel Benefit is perfect occasion to come together and play one last show.
“My band, Astro Cowboy, we’ve been a band for a while,” Harrington said. “We started in my junior year of high school. We broke up my freshman year of college when I came up here to State, and we’ve written four songs, and we finally got around to recording them.”
The Double Barrel Benefit is considered to be WKNC’s biggest event of the year; however, its held many other concerts outside of the radio station.
“One of the main passions of WKNC is supporting local music and local artists, and we do that throughout the year with Fridays on the Lawn or our events that we have outside in front of Witherspoon, where we have free shows with local artists,” Ehling said. “But this event just really lets us highlight some of the bigger artists in the community.”
Updated information on upcoming events can be found on the station’s website, wknc.org, or on its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/wknc881.
