Posted on October 1, 2007
Live music, new bands, a great social atmosphere. If this sounds appealing than you might want to check out new college music nights every Wednesday at The Pub. Chuck Troutman, general manager for The Pub, is working on bringing great bands to the Harrisonburg community on a weekly basis. Troutman uses Wednesday nights as a vehicle to get college students to see new bands.
“I like to mix it up between JMU bands, college bands and other national acts,” he said.
Troutman already has several national acts lined up for the Wednesday night concert series including Will Hodge and Portugal the Man. Although these bands may not sound familiar to you, The Pub has seen four Grammy winners and about 10 Grammy nominees in the past four years. In fact, The Dave Matthew’s Band has played previously at The Pub for five dollar covers.
Selecting bands that appeal to a wide range of audiences isn’t an easy task.
“I get inundated with press kits and promos,” Troutman said.
But he likes to give young bands a chance. Bands work on a “make it, take it” policy, according to Troutman. The more people they draw in, the more money they stand to make. Troutman likes the audience and range of bands to have an eclectic edge that reflects his personality. Bands that Troutman has lined up vary from hard rock to indie/folk sound.
Annie’s Tragedy, a rock band from Manassas, kicked off the Wednesday night band series.
“We’ve played at venues all the way from New York to South Carolina,” band member Matt Kitchen said.
Most venues they play are in or around college towns, attracting the younger-aged crowd. On Wednesday night they drew in a large crowd.
“They rock,” junior Sarah Esterbrook said. “I’ve seen them in concert before and I’m a huge fan.”
Other people came because they heard there would be live music. Blue Ridge Community College student Sarah Side received an invite to The Pub on her MySpace.
“I was even able to hear a sample of the bands music,” Side said.
The college night shows are 18 and up. “We definitely plan on coming back to other Wednesday night shows,” Blue Ridge student Chrissie Vanpelt said.
You can check out the Wednesday night line up on The Pub’s website, dothepub.com.
“One thing that I would like to see is people developing a thirst to see band’s they haven’t seen before,” Troutman said.
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