It’s that time of year again — Spring Carnival has come to CMU’s campus!  As we’ve done for longer than we can remember, WRCT will once again be covering the Buggy / Sweepstakes races this weekend.  Our coverage this year comes to you in cooperation with cmuTV and the CMU Buggy Alumni Association.  If you’re coming to watch the races, remember to bring a portable radio and listen in!

Live coverage of the races will air on 88.3 MHz for listeners on the Buggy course and in the Pittsburgh area, as well as streaming live at wrct.org.  Coverage begins 8am Friday and Saturday morning, barring any technical difficulties.  Regularly-scheduled programming will be pre-empted during this broadcast.

Listeners tuning in to hear the Saturday Light Brigade this Saturday can find a list of SLB affiliate stations and live online streaming at slbradio.org.

1. Broken Bells: Broken Bells
2. Jimmy Smith: The Cat Strikes Again
3. Chris Joss: Monomaniacs Vol. 1
4. Four Tet: There Is Love In You
5. Toro Y Moi: Causers of This
6. The Album Leaf: A Chorus of Storytellers
7. The Vampires of Dartmoore: Dracula’s Music Cabinet
8. Ali Farka Touré; & Toumani Diabaté: Ali and Toumani
9. The Flaming Lips: Embryonic
10. Tommy James and the Shondells: The Complete Singles (1996-2006)

Folk artists are migrating to Portland, and hip-hop artists are finding their scene in Baltimore. Popular music is no longer about dominating the charts; it’s about commanding a region.
While the Internet has helped musicians find audiences beyond borders, artists are always looking for a place to call home. They want friends to collaborate with and live audiences to play in front of.
With that in mind, some cities are becoming musical safe havens, while other cities are becoming musical dry spots. Places like Toronto, Canada have brought together super groups like Broken Social Scene. Sometimes borrowing members from bands all across Canada, Broken Social Scene plays with as few as six members to as many as 19 members. The band even has popular artists like Leslie Feist in its mix.
As of yet, Pittsburgh isn’t exactly dry, but most good musicians don’t stay in the city long. Oftentimes it feels like artists only stop by Pittsburgh on their way to New York.
This is all so unfortunate because Pittsburgh has the potential to explode on the music scene. Few cities support their artists as much as we do, and even fewer can match our affordable housing. Our city is the perfect place for emerging artists to collaborate and call home, so make a point to support local talent. Go see a show!
-Stephen Epple