Most of us attend UNC for a small fraction of our life. While somewhat aware of the fact we should be making the most of our college years, we’re often swept away by the monotony or rigor of classes and work. Music provides many of us a constant backdrop for the responsibilities of daily life, listening to our playlists as we walk, eat and study.
But we’re lucky enough to attend a university that can fill those silences for us.
Student artists and local bands regularly play for nearby venues, in a wide variety of genres: bluegrass to rock, emo to choral; pretty much every type of music you can think of is performed here. WXYC, the student radio station, has a host of unique DJs mixing and curating songs, 24/7. Student ensembles put on symphonies and showcases every semester. Even fraternities hire student bands or DJ's to play at events and parties. UNC’s music microcosm has been growing for centuries and has turned into an environment we can and should benefit from.
There are dozens of musical student groups and tickets are often discounted or free. Events on campus are within walking distance and we have free transportation to travel around town. Generally, there is no other time in our life when we will have the same means, the company or the energy to attend such well-made performances. We should take advantage of the availability, range and quality of live music around campus to curate our college experiences.
Music is like a glue holding UNC and the surrounding community together. Walking down Franklin, you can hear jazz from Imbibe, street musicians at crosswalks and a variety of sounds filtering from restaurants. There are posters advertising free shows and sets by local and aspiring musicians plastered on countless billboards. The opportunity to connect with something as healing and humanistic as live music surrounds us, almost unavoidably. While the buildings and businesses we walk past everyday may become repetitive, performance art injects life into our shared spaces.
Not to be cliché, but there really is something worthwhile for everyone here. If you want good conversation or to get some work done, you can attend a jazz night at a quieter bar, where students improvise classic and contemporary tunes. If you need to relax or mull for a while, Memorial Hall hosts gorgeous hours-long performances. If you want to learn an instrument yourself, practice rooms on campus are often open — it’s even entertaining to listen to the surrounding practicing musicians.
It can be easy to contract tunnel vision or feel disconnected during college. Student-led experiences being supported by campus is inspiring and reminds us to appreciate our peers and community. Faced with the ability to consume any media we wish as many times as we wish, we can start to take artistry for granted. Live music forces you to be mindful of fleeting moments.
Live performances and the music scene are changing, but colleges have always been a societal backbone, dictating the value of culture and information. It’s important now more than ever to decide the value of live music around campus through our involvement. UNC alumni and Chapel Hill residents lovingly recall their memories at Cat’s Cradle, The Cave and Lapin Bleu, not their coursework or their everyday playlists. We, too, will remember the moments we allow our ears to be open to.
