The Mac Bubble burst last Thursday, when over 200 students flooded the Cedar Cultural Center in support of WMCN and its five featured bands. WMCN representatives Sarah Holtz ‘13 and Eliza Summerlin ‘13 have confirmed that “Who Even Listens to WMCN?” raised over $2,300. The success surpassed their expectations and allowed them to pay the participating bands, who had all signed on to play on a volunteer basis. “They were all under the impression that they weren’t getting anything for playing,” says Holtz, adding that some of the musicians had even donated to make the show happen.

Along with paying the bands, Holtz and Summerlin plan to create a fund for WMCN to sponsor more events like this one. Holtz and Summerlin hope that, in the future, the station will use the money to put on at least one show per year. If future events are anything like this one, they will be sure to turn a profit, too. The excitement was palpable as students and other Twin Cities residents filled the auditorium. More and more audience members began to dance, cheer, and sing along as each band played its set.

“When Bad Bad Hats played, and everyone around me was singing along to their songs, and Kerry [Alexander ‘12, lead singer] was up there smiling…,” says Summerlin, “I think that was it for me. Like, ‘This is awesome.’“

“One of my favorite parts was when Mac Slam performed during intermission,” says Holtz.

“Plus the photo wall was a huge success,” adds Summerlin, referring to the spot where students could pose for photos with friends against a WMCN-logo background.

“That was a last-minute thing that we just put together, and it ended up being so much fun.” says Holtz.

Holtz and Summerlin also encourage Mac students to check out the upcoming “Are You Local?” concert, which offers Bad Bad Hats and Carroll the opportunity to win a spot at this year’s South by Southwest music festival. The concert, sponsored by Vita.mn, will take place on Friday, March 1, at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis.

“I told Brian [Hurlow ‘12, lead singer of Carroll] before the show,” Summerlin says, “I told him, ‘[“Who Even Listens to WMCN?”] will be really cool a few years from now when you guys are super famous and we can be like ‘Yeah, they played our event that one time.’ ”