KDUR Cover Night Celebrates Local Musicians

The way I would, sum it up is love, being in a band, there's a lot more work than glory. That's one thing I could say about being a local musician.

Cover night has this effect of, people just appreciating that you're up on the stage and the whole room is filled.

I feel like it helps, bring awareness and support and love to the local music community.

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So KDUR is the now moving into its 52nd year, I think, radio station that operates out of Fort Lewis College. Founded by Jim Vlasich which was a nontraditional student in the 70s. And it's just been a the campus radio station.

Some of us think of it as a college radio station first. Some of us think of it as a community radio station. But the correct answer is that we're very firmly both.

Many people know, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Disbanded thanks to the current administration and executive order, etc.. And that was where at least a portion of our funding came from.

And then, you know, as part of the college, we get a very small amount of money from the college, student fees. And the bulk of it is done through fundraising. So, we do two on air pledge drives, one in the fall, one in the spring, and then a number of community centric events, not unlike cover night.

Cover nights began. I was playing in a lawn chair at Kings That plays Country punk And I had a friend, Steve Stokes, who was playing in a punk band called Good Foot, and we were reflecting on how our bands of different genres could play on the same stage.

So we thought of this idea of covering the music of Neil Diamond.

And eventually it became this poster and the motto became local musicians unite. So the idea was to, get musicians together and celebrate being musicians in Durango and in the area and, and to have the tie in of covering one musician.

But it it it led into this, tradition that's really built up over the years. And nowadays, when cover nights come up, you need to buy a ticket within five minutes to even get in.

It's important to focus on local talent, because it kind of it falls in line with the, you know, the ethos and the mission of KDUR.

This is a radio station that celebrates independent music, you know, we're not playing whatever happened at the Grammys the other night, we're playing. We're playing musicians that make music for the love of making music. You know, very few of them are millionaires.

And I think a lot of our bands in this town are people that are your teachers and your laborers and people that, you know, guest deejay at radio stations, and they're doctors, lawyers, attorneys, whatever.

And they're also in rock bands, you know, and these bands will come and play this event. So you want to see, like the people that are making music for the love of making music, not for like a big paycheck. Come to KDUR cover night.

And I appreciate all of you all posting and supporting. KDUR where right now we welcome the Lawn Chair Kings.

KDUR and other community stations, really serve a critical role in, getting information out about shows that bands are playing and the different concerts in the area.

And then if, you're in a band that has a recording, your best chance of getting that played is on local radio. Like, KDUR in the community stations. So I think it's a good fit for the music community to support our local radio station that keeps our music scene active and alive.

It's a medium that we need.

We need artists making art and doing things.

You want to be really tied into the community, get tied in and listen to a radio station like this because it's just it's the it's the soundtrack. And like the pulse of the area, which is cool.

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