Rainy Dawg Turns 24! Bday Fest Gets Dirty, Girl
By Rosario & Emily
UW has no shortage of live music events, including Battle of the Bands, Fall Fling, Spring Show, Husky Jam concerts, and plenty of house shows around the University District. This year, one event stood out from the rest: a birthday party, to be exact. Every April, Rainy Dawg Radio (RDR) celebrates another year around the sun with a special birthday show. Bday Fest curates local vendors and incredible live performances, gathering the coolest dawgs on campus in one spot. There’s truly no better way to ring in RDR’s anniversary and to promote student-run college radio than with an epic free concert!
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This year, to commemorate our 24th, RDR certainly made a splash with headliner Frost Children, a sibling duo from St. Louis, Missouri. They’re known for their high-energy hyperpop tracks, though a blend of their older work and newer sound is reminiscent of pop-punk and emo. Frost Children has also paid homage to the foundations of EDM, citing Acivii as inspirational. Frost Children headlined with support from local indie band N3ster and Rainy Dawg’s very own DJ DUCKSALAD.
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The origins of Bday Fest date back to 2014, when RDR held a concert in Red Square as a part of W Day to commemorate the university’s birthday. This festive extravaganza inspired RDR to celebrate its own birthday. Bday Fest took off the following year in Sylvan Grove, with the inaugural performers being Isaiah Rashad and Wampire. In the early years, there was an annual “Birthday Battle” preceding the big day, where bands faced off to secure a spot in the Bday Fest lineup, following the same format that Battle of the Bands continues today.
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Even during the pandemic, RDR still wanted to party like it was our birthday, hosting a virtual bash in 2020 and 2021 with support from artists like Dirty Projectors and Yves Tumor. This new era of RDR represents our comeback from the pandemic, growing back like dandelions in the cracks of cement. We’ve been continuously gaining momentum since, and we sure aren’t slowing down. Bday Fest keeps getting bigger and better, with some notable performances over the past two years from Rocket and This Is Lorelei.
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This year, the festivities took place on the HUB Lawn, with the stage facing Sieg Hall and vendor tents lined up adjacent to the HUB. Attendees arrived upwards of three hours before the headliner came on, meaning some eager Huskies were lucky enough to catch a preview during soundcheck. Some ventured around in the nice weather to chat with us at the RDR booth, while others basked in the sun with their backs to the barricade, refusing to budge from the spots they secured. Throughout the night, many attendees made their way over to the vendor booths lining the edge of the lawn, including Hollow Earth Radio, the ASUW Gender Equity Commission, The Vera Project, and UW’s Music Listening Club. The event was made safe for attendees with a first aid tent, handing out all of the earplugs and medical supplies necessary for a night of dancing on the lawn.
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The music kicked off at 7 p.m. with Rainy Dawg’s own student DJ, DUCKSALAD, who got the crowd loose with an engaging, upbeat set. We found DUCKSALAD after his set and were fortunate enough to chat with him, despite the crowd. He mentioned that he initially freaked out when Lydia, RDR’s General Manager, texted nothing but “hey,” extending an offer to play a set during Bday Fest. His set was almost entirely improvised, featuring a bit of his own taste while catering to the crowd with some house music hits, including a PinkPantheress song that inspired movement. DUCKSALAD mentioned that he was excited to share his catalog, which featured a lot of the hard groove he picked up while studying abroad in Australia and becoming friends with many of the DJ artists there.
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Next to take the stage was local Seattle quartet, N3ster, at 8 pm. Their self-proclaimed “indie guitar rock for beasts and bodybuilders” via their Instagram profile kept the crowd movin’ as the sun went down. Nathen, N3ster’s singer, shared with us what playing this show meant for the band. He talked about how the most meaningful element was just to be performing on a stage. N3ster operates as a DIY band, booking sets at house shows and small venues, where the stage sometimes places the band on the same level as the crowd. To have the opportunity to play in an actual concert atmosphere, with a stage and proper lighting, was a step up for the group. Considering N3ster’s very first EP only came out in 2023, they’ve made a name for themselves quickly. Check out their latest release, Ep2, for a taste of indie shoegazey goodness.
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Following both sets, the crowd reached the most anticipated moment of the night at 9 pm when Lulu and Angel of Frost Children made their entrance. After a brief introduction by our very own Assistant Manager, Alessando, shouting out those who made the event possible — namely Livia, our music director, who coordinates artist bookings — the stage went dark, and the crowd surged forward as the first beats of their new song “Electric” started. Frost Children’s whole set was nothing short of their song’s namesake, blasting sound through the HUB lawn and surrounding campus and driving everyone in the crowd closer to the stage as everyone danced to the beat. With a mini mosh pit in the back, crowd surfers, and even a brief moment at the barricade where fans met the duo themselves, their whole hour-long set was filled with non-stop energy, with hit after hit, including their remix of Ninajirachi’s “F*ck My Computer.” Then, just like that, Frost Children left the stage, and the crowd dispersed to continue their respective nights.
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Bday Fest is a testament to the importance of college radio and the accessibility of live performance, giving young adults a space to express themselves and engage with an otherwise expensive art form without any financial burdens. It was rewarding for all of the RDR staff and volunteers to see their hard work manifest into such a success. Even weeks after our birthday party, we’ve left our mark in the grass of the HUB lawn, displayed by patches of dirt where a stage and hundreds of dancing Huskies once stood. ‘Til next year, happy birthday Rainy Dawg Radio!
- Rosario & Emily