Snake on the Lake, an annual music festival hosted by student-run radio station WSUM and WUD Music, returned to Memorial Union for the 20th year on Friday, Sept. 11.
Allison Lukas, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, works as the music director for WSUM. Lukas oversees Snake on the Lake, runs live studio sessions during the week and interviews the bands who come into the station every Friday for live sessions.
“I see Snake on the Lake as getting bands that we normally aren’t able to get in,” Lukas told The Daily Cardinal.
WSUM accomplished that goal, as all the performing bands came from different states, had never performed for WSUM before and played their own unique genres of music.
Half Gringa is a Chicago-based band that performs a mix of contemporary indie rock, Latin folk and Midwestern folk. Isabel Olive, Half-Gringa’s singer-songwriter, kicked off their set with deep, soulful vocals and poetic lyrics, switching frequently between Spanish and English.
A highlight of their performance was the plucky, electronic “Pennsylvania Dutch” from their 2017 album “Gruñona.”
The second performance came from Baileyrp, also known as Bailey Panzeca. She’s a Colorado-based artist who performs glitchpop and hyperfolk music. Or, as she jokes in her Instagram bio, “beep boop calculator music.”
She uses electronic sounds to back her tracks and explained to the audience that she makes music on her DS and iPod, which came through in the buzzing, static-like electronics.
Panzeca’s music had a dreamy feel, with smooth vocals and a background track that teleported you back into the early 2000s. Or into the caves of “Stardew Valley,” but in the best possible way.
The final act was the indie-rock, dream-pop band Why Bonnie. This New York-based band was a great final act for the night. Why Bonnie’s lead singer Blair Howerton earned quite a few laughs and whistles from the crowd, gathered at the foot of the stage.
The real highlight was how the dark, chiming guitar tones contrasted with Howerton’s vocals. They played songs off their newest album “Wish on the Bone,” which explores themes ranging from love and connection to social and political issues. A highlight is their anti-capitalism ballad, “Dotted Line.”
WSUM and WUD Music pulled off another successful Snake on the Lake, with a little something for casual and diehard music lovers alike.
Marco Gomez, a freshman at UW-Madison, found out about the event through WSUM’s radio channel.
“I really like live music,” Gomez said. “I saw they had some sick posters…I’ve got to come out.”
