As you walk through the ASUN offices on the third floor of the Joe Crowley Student Union, one room sticks out like a sore thumb. Band posters cover the walls from top to bottom. CD’s line the walls. And there’s a recording studio tucked in a corner. This is Wolf Pack Radio.
The student-run radio station at the University of Nevada, Reno plays a variety of music including classical, electronic and alternative. Wolf Pack Radio has been on the air since 1999.
But the station does more than just play music. It provides a platform for local artists to get their music heard through Live in the 775, formerly known as Sound Studies.
Adelynn Puett, the general manager of Wolf Pack Radio and the host of Live in the 775, said it's important to have a journalistic approach to local bands.
“I think the exposure helps because there's a lot of opportunity for them to do shows in the Reno area. But I realized, there's not a lot of opportunities for them to do stuff regarding publications or stuff like people writing about them or people kind of reporting on what they're doing. And so I think that that's kind of an important step in terms of putting Reno music more on the radar,” Puett said.
Local band Headstone was on Sound Studies last year. Jake Lorgé, the lead singer and guitarist, felt the experience of being on the show has had a very positive effect on their following.
“I feel like we got a good amount of exposure once Wolf Pack radio posted about it, we got like more followers on Instagram and a lot more people showing up to our shows. I think overall, it did help us out. And we're like, really happy that we got to do it,” Lorgé stated.
Headstone drummer Matt L’Etoile said that a platform like Wolf Pack Radio and student media as a whole gives local artists the headroom to actually have the spotlight for a bit.
“It's cool to be recognized, a lot of times like, we don't get paid or whatever, but that's fine. It's fun to be in the spotlight for a little bit, you know, you're recognized like artists, not just musicians,” L’Etoile said.
Local musicians also recognized the importance of promotion outside of just themselves. Noah Linker, a local musician, appreciated the fact that Wolf Pack Radio provides artists another venue to showcase their work.
Linker said radio, specifically student radio, can help foster a community that might struggle to thrive without it.
“So it's a very diverse place for people to share their ideas and be heard and show off other people that they know about, which I've been fortunate enough to be a part of. And without that, I think our community would struggle to be able to get their voices out there, because there's not a lot of other places for these young people to express themselves, especially in that kind of way on radio,” Linker said.
You can listen to Wolf Pack Radio at wolfpackradio.org. Live in the 775 can be heard on Wolf Pack Radio and KWNK 97.7 FM on Friday evenings.
KUNR's Jacob Kostuchowski is a student at the Reynolds School of Journalism.
As a note of disclosure, the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents owns the license to this station.
