Disney’s 2012 film “Radio Rebel” follows a young girl with a hit radio personality who ends up putting on prom for her entire school. But "Radio Rebel" is not the only student-run radio station who hosts a dance; this Friday night, ACRN returns with their annual prom.
ACRN, short for All-Campus Radio Network, is a student-run radio station and media hub, and this Friday night they will host Emo Prom at The Union, 18 W. Union St. Doors will open at 8 p.m. for this themed event, which will feature Ohio bands Abel, LEBA, Penny and Hollow starting around 9 p.m.
“It's just kind of a fun, little celebration for all of us to come together and listen to some really fun music,” said Sophia Hoffman, a sophomore studying media arts production and ACRN’s promotions director. “Prom typically we like to bring in more hardcore bands. It has kind of a darker sound to maybe other concerts that we typically do.”
Hoffman said the event is one of ACRN’s biggest fundraisers, as prom is a ticketed event. Entrance costs $8 for attendees 21 and older, and $10 for prom guests who are underage.
The event includes dancing and rock music, of course, but also a large raffle and an outfit contest. Hoffman said there is usually moshing at prom, and at the end of the night they even crown a prom king, queen or monarch.
As promotions director, Hoffman works in tandem with Jonah Krueger, a senior studying journalism and ACRN’s general manager, to book bands and secure the line up.
“We just have a pretty solid knowledge of kind of the Ohio music scene, but really the Columbus and Athens scene that's happening,” Hoffman said.
On top of booking with Hoffman, Krueger also works with the many other departments at ACRN to ensure prom goes smoothly. He helped coordinate advertising, the venue, items for the auction and more. While ACRN is often known for its work as a radio station, Krueger said there is a space for anyone with options for work in writing, audio production, photography and anything else related to music and other media.
Julia Weber, a sophomore studying journalism, works as the social media director and features editor for ACRN. She has been working to get the word out for Friday’s event online, and said the original poster for the event had an additional band, Narrow Streets, who will no longer be able to attend. For updates like that she encourages people to monitor the ACRN Instagram.
“I always just love the live music aspect of it especially,” Weber said. “Seeing my friends who are in bands get to play and do stuff that they're so passionate about and getting to be with my other friends in the crowd.”
Prom is just one of several live music events ACRN hosts throughout the year, and the funds raised at prom will help contribute to ACRN’s biggest event of the year, LobsterFest. This year LobsterFest will occur March 31 and April 1, and prom attendees will be the first to hear this year’s line up, as they will announce it Friday at prom.
“It's been hard to keep all the secrets on lock because we've got some really, really exciting stuff planned and I think there's gonna be some people that are very, very excited with the LobsterFest lineup when it's finally dropped,” Krueger said.
Krueger said he’s excited to see everyone dressed up this weekend, as he remembers last year everyone came enthusiastically in goth attire, which was the 2022 prom theme. He said he plans to dress more “scene” than his attire last year, adding that his vibe for the evening will likely be “Hot Topic.”
Hoffman, meanwhile, has been planning her outfit for a while now.
“I have a Pinterest board that I've been like slowly just accumulating photos into for the past month now,” she said. “I have this one dress that's kind of like a ‘90s grunge look a little bit and then I'm gonna go with some 2000s little spiky buns, and I'm very excited about it.”
She encourages everyone to dress up and come out to support this weekend, which Krueger corroborates. ACRN invites any “rock lobster” to come rock out at their prom.
“We anticipate it to be hopefully busy, so don't wait to get there,” Krueger said.”We've hit capacity a couple times this year already, so don't miss out. Get there, and let's emo it up.”
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