The smiling face of All Campus Radio Network’s vibrant red lobster mascot, Snat, signaled the must-attend live show of the year had arrived. Lobsterfest, ACRN’s three-day music festival and biggest event of the year, tore the walls of The Union down Friday and Saturday night, and chords were left echoing through the Scripps Amphitheater during Sunday’s brightest hours.
Each day had a strong lineup of bands from across North America. Friday brought Rug, Mourning Star, Wishy and People in the Daytime to The Union stage. For Saturday, Lavandula, cootie catcher, Dazy and Cellar Dwellar performed. Finally, Blush, The Houseguest and A-Go-Go took to the stone platform of the Scripps Amphitheater for a sunny outdoor encore.
Kate Tocke, ACRN’s public relations director and a junior studying journalism, said each show brought big crowds and vibrant performances.
“We definitely had people flowing in pretty early in the night, and the energy was so high,” Tocke said. “Last night was Lavandula’s last show at The Union. So the energy was very high at the beginning of the night, and they had a really great set and a really good send off. And I think they were really happy to play for us.”
Tocke said her work behind the scenes of Lobsterfest, with the help of promotions director Evan Seurkamp, began early in the school year to make the festival possible.
“I work very closely with our promotions director, Evan,” Tocke said. “That includes booking bands; we start booking Lobsterfest months and months in advance … we have bands from Toronto, Indianapolis, all over this year.”
The planning for Tocke, Seurkamp and the rest of the ACRN team kept them busy well before Lobsterfest’s first show. Seurkamp, a junior studying music production and recording industry, said the job description for promotions director includes scouting out bands, communicating with performers and coordinating decoration efforts in The Union.
“I'm sending out all the info when they should arrive to the venue, where they should park at, where they should pull up at,” Seurkamp said. “I'm sending info to the sound people at the venue, just making sure that everyone has all the information that they need, and no one's in the dark about anything, so that we're not scrambling when it gets to show time.”
All of ACRN’s departments play an integral role in making Lobsterfest happen. Jessica Thrasher, a junior studying journalism and a writer for ACRN, said the editorial department produces several articles promoting the radio network’s events.
“We have done the features, which are really important,” Thrasher said. “Right now, that's going to be previews of what bands we have. We do those for all the events that come up, like (Punk) Prom.”
Tocke emphasized the collaborative environment in ACRN where each staff is working together to make Lobsterfest a reality.
“Our editorial team is really good at covering the event, interviewing all the bands and writing previews, our visuals team is really good at making the poster for it,” Tocke said. “And then, obviously, I'm very proud of Evan for booking all these bands, but everyone's so great to work with. Everyone worked so hard. I'm really proud of everyone.”
Although there is no shortage of talent in Athens, a variety of bands from different locales perform at Lobsterfest. However, bringing in talent from all over means a range of costs.
Part of Seurkamp’s job is working with ACRN’s treasurer to make sure bands get paid. He said nonheadliners are paid around $200-$600, while headliners can be paid anywhere between $2,000-$6,000.
ACRN makes a huge effort to ensure bands are having the best experience they can. On Sunday, Seurkamp came up with a last-minute idea to help produce promotional material for the performers.
“I have an old tape machine that is kind of what fans back in the day used to record demos on, or live performances on,” Seurkamp said. “I have it hooked up to our board, so I'm hoping to get a couple songs recorded to the tape. So we can use those as promo, show them to the bands. They can use those if they want.”
For Thrasher, being part of the team that makes Lobsterfest possible is her favorite part about ACRN.
“The people you're around in ACRN and just whoever is drawn to it are all gonna be really like-minded and passionate about just music and the music community,” Thrasher said. “... It's great to see everyone kind of hands on and interested in making it work, because they do make it work and it's very fun.”
Seurkamp recommended people get involved with ACRN, saying the process of planning Lobsterfest is always rewarding.
“We're always looking for people to join ACRN, and if you're interested in helping us plan Lobsterfest for next year, or any of our other events, then you can find us on Bobcat Connect,” Seurkamp said.
