“My name is Ray Honahni. I’m the live programming manager for Aggie Radio. So we're at the Annex right now. This is part of Logan City Limits, and so we're kind of bouncing back and forth between the Annex and WhySound, and so we're just having — I believe — four bands are in each place, kind of going back and forth.”
Aggie Radio’s Logan City Limits music festival in April featured seven bands. They were future.exboyfriend, Guava Tree, Hurtado, Holy Water Buffalo, The What-Nots, and Sleep Cult. The festival’s headliner, Sego, has a history with Aggie Radio, according to Station Manager Audrey Flood.
“They were really supportive of Aggie Radio previously when they were getting on their feet and now they've become a lot bigger," Flood said. "I'm really glad to have them back. It's a beautiful little full-circle Aggie Radio moment.”
Logan City Limits is an annual festival the radio station hosts at the end of the spring semester each school year.
Aggie Radio also holds the Big Agg Show, which is an annual music festival at the beginning of fall semester, and the End of Year Bash music festival on USU’s campus, hosted alongside the Utah State Student Association.
Mayson Garrett, Aggie Radio’s public relations director, explained that Logan City Limits showcases a different genre of music than the station’s other festivals do.
“Not only is it one of our music festivals, but it's more of a rock music festival in genre than say the Big Agg Show which is more of a pop music festival," Garrett said. "It’s a little bit of a different audience and a different vibe and super fun.”
Flood explained what Aggie Radio is and what purpose it serves on the university’s campus and in the Logan community.
“So Aggie Radio is our on-campus radio station here at USU. It is completely student-run," she said. "We consist of live radio, which is both programmed music that is chosen by our music director, but also live shows from DJs, controlled by our programming director Ray. And then we also have we have a focus on supporting local music, especially in sort of bolstering the local music community here in Utah and Logan.”
Flood said the station allows students to learn and grow while having a voice on the radio.
The station also produces podcasts, and what they call KBLU studio sessions where bands can come in and play music.
Aggie Radio was started in 2007 as an online-only radio station and was created with the help of Utah Public Radio and USU journalism and communication professor Ted Pease.
In 2016, Aggie Radio became an FM radio station broadcasting from 92.3.
Cathy Ives, who was the station manager at Utah Public Radio when Aggie Radio was first formed, explained that at the time students weren’t eligible to be involved with Utah Public Radio and they wanted a place to be on the radio.
“Putting Aggie Radio on the air was a perfect mix of all of those things, because it did allow the students to sort of take the ball and run with it. They were able to have their own broadcast system," she said.
Ives explained Aggie Radio’s vision when it first started.
“I think it was a creative outlet for the students. I think they were able to sort of do some very programming things that touched their hearts, that they were passionate about, and delivered to the student body and other folks that were able to access the signal," Ives said.
Aggie Radio has grown since its creation and is now able to host concerts and other events, allowing students to have leadership positions and express their creativity.
Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio’s chief engineer, also helped start Aggie Radio. He saw the importance of a student-run station and its impact.
“I think Aggie Radio allows for expression, regardless of what it is that you're trying to express, whether it be through vocal performance on the air, whether it's sports or music or things happening on campus or news in general," Weller said.
According to Flood, holding festivals like Logan City Limits helps bolster Aggie Radio and the local music scene.
“But we are kind of shifting our focus around concerts, previously it's kind of just been like we just throw concerts to throw in concerts. That's kind of been my goal and my time as station manager is to make sure that we are a lot more purpose-driven and what we do. In the end, it really is just kind of a way to put our name out there. And also support that local music community.”
For more information on where to listen to Aggie Radio and what programming is provided, visit aggieradio.com
