WXJM benefit show to support environment
Several regional bands to perform Friday night
By Leila Saadeh, contributing writer
Posted on January 18, 2007

WXJM is teaming up with JMU Green Coalition for Cool Aid, a benefit concert hosted by the radio station Friday night.

Six regional bands will perform at Cool Aid, including heavy techno-metal band The Wayward, Future, which plays organic hip-hop and Georgie James, an indie rock band.

JMU punk band Aggrocrag is headlining the concert.

“They always put on an exciting show because they have a different theme with costumes such as the ‘Wizard of Oz,’” said Jake Adams, the big events director at WXJM and one of the people in charge of putting the show together.

WXJM wanted to appeal to different groups of people with the bands they chose. Underground music, heavy metal, and hip-hop artists will be featured to make the concert more diverse.

“We had a vision for indie bands,” Adams said. “Indie music is a huge part of WXJM and a lot of people like it,” Adams said.

Proceeds from the concert will go to the Green Coalition, an environmental group on campus. WXJM got involved with the Green Coalition thanks to sophomore Marley Green, the world music genre director at the radio station. Green is a member of EARTH (Environmental Awareness and Restoration Through our Help) and mentioned the Green Coalition to Adams to be used for the Cool Aid benefit show.

The Green Coalition started with the idea to stop buying coal energy and using alternative sources such as wind, hydro-electrical, solar and geo-thermal sources and “anything other than coal,” Green added.

The Green Coalition’s aims to raise awareness about energy issues, get a promise from administration to move toward 100 percent clean energy and establish the Green Fund to increase student fees $10 to $15 to help pay for projects to reduce energy use and eventually buy clean energy directly from clean sources.

These goals are long-term and can help the environment if achieved. Many colleges have groups with similar goals.

“I think that colleges can lead the way,” Green said. “Together we can start the future now.”

Cool Aid will take place Friday at 5 p.m. in Transitions in Warren Hall and costs $5 at the door, with proceeds benefiting the Green Coalition.