SoCal’s 88.5 Presents ’88FIVE-Live Rewind’
• Public, member-supported Southern California Triple A 88.5 FM is demonstrating its strong support of independent music over this July 4th weekend by hosting a two-day, virtual music festival — 88FIVE-Live Rewind will feature a ton of previously recorded live studio sessions by artists such as Nick Waterhouse, Dawes, Mondo Cozmo, Moby, alt-J, Johnny Marr, Death Cab for Cutie and Sting, to name just a few.
88FIVE-Live Rewind will begin at 1pm on Saturday, July 4, and run through 8pm on Sunday, July 5 on 885fm.org, or the station’s YouTube channel. Over the course of the two days, the festival will showcase dozens of live performances by 77 bands, curated by the legendary Nic Harcourt, host of 88.5’s morning show, with the help of engineer Tristan Dolce.
“The purpose of the 88FIVE-Live Rewind virtual music festival is twofold,” said 88.5 GM Patrick Osburn. “First, to celebrate the station’s commitment to promoting local and national emerging artists. Second, and equally important, we want to reinforce the importance of supporting the local, independent music venues and clubs that are the backbone of the Southern California music scene. These independent venues are a staple of the music industry, and they have suffered alongside artists during the COVID-19 shutdowns.” Osburn said the audience will be invited to learn more about the National Independent Venue Association, a nonprofit organization working to save those venues impacted by COVID-19, and given information on ways to support independent venues.
The festival will include performances recorded as part of 88FIVE Live In-Studio Sessions and 88FIVE Live Sessions on location at various venues around Southern California. The July 4 portion will feature performances by 34 L.A. and SoCal artists, while July 5 will feature performances by 43 artists from across the U.S. and around the globe. The full lineup is posted at 885fm.org.
“We have been waiting for the right time to put this priceless content to good use,” Harcourt said, adding, “I knew, deep down, we would eventually have clarity on how these performances would be re-purposed to benefit a lot of people and organizations.” 88.5 PD Marc “Mookie” Kaczor noted that independent radio, artists and venues “are truly all in this COVID-19 crisis together. We at 88.5 are pleased to step up and do our part to be part of the solution.”
88.5 is a combined effort of KCSN, which serves California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and KSBR, which serves Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, CA. The two began simulcasting as 88.5 FM in October 2017, linking L.A. and Orange County signals.
