CLARIFICATION: A paragraph in an earlier version of this story said the show would be on Saturday. It is on Sunday. The story has been changed to reflect this. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the confusion.
The identity of “college student” is synonymous, for better or for worse, with many characteristics and traits, two of which are a rampant appetite for food and a heightened passion for good music.
While separate, these niceties are both very enjoyable, but when they come together a happening is created that becomes a collegiate idyll of sorts. This event exists, and it’s called the WXYC Backyard Barbecue.
The concert, which is put on by campus radio station WXYC, combines both local music and the classic culinary concept of a barbecue to make for a celebration of sorts.
“I think it’s awesome. It’s such a low price, and with pretty much free, unlimited amounts of food,” said station manager Karina Soni. “I think it’s a great way for students and people within the community to be more exposed to the music they have available to them in both the Triangle and in the greater Chapel Hill area.”
Julianna Thomas is the host for WXYC’s radio show “Backyard Barbecue,” and she is also the organizer behind this spectacle. The barbecue usually has occurred on the last Sunday of every month since the summer of this year.
“For this one in particular I was approached by Michelle Temple from Black Skies,” Thomas said. “I know her from the Cat’s Cradle and she’s a friend of mine. She knew what I was doing, and wanted to somehow play a show that was WXYC-sponsored. She made it really easy for me; she came to me with the whole bill.”
Having the hard-rocking bands of Black Skies, Fin Fang Foom and Caltrop now booked with Temple’s help, Thomas could rest easy knowing that the staff of Chapel Hill Underground, the venue which hosts the show, would take care of the catering and stage.
“The guys at Chapel Hill Underground take care of all of that for us, which is really awesome. They’ve been so generous in getting that together,” said Thomas.
Eddie Sanchez, co-owner of Chapel Hill Underground, is Thomas’ link to the venue, as they are close friends. On top of hosting the event he will also be playing in it as a member of Fin Fang Foom.
“My main goal was to try to do the best I can to get students to see local bands,” Sanchez said.
He said the appeal of unlimited food, which is prepared with pride by the venue’s staff, should bring in more and more concertgoers. As a musician, this will be his first time playing at the barbecue.
“We haven’t played a show since June, and we’re definitely looking forward to playing with Caltrop, they’re old friends of ours,” Sanchez said.
The barbecue has actually been around for 24 years, though not on the regular basis established during the summer. Glenn Boothe, now the owner of Local 506, originally created it with Frank Heath, co-owner of the Cat’s Cradle, in 1988, when they hosted a WXYC radio show and decided to accompany it with a live concert. The concerts sporadically occurred over subsequent years, with their current, regularly scheduled reincarnations adapted by Thomas in the summer.
The show this Sunday will be indoors due to powerful noise and inclement weather. For $4, patrons receive access to the venue for a night of music and food.
“I’m super excited for Fin Fang Foom,” Soni said. “They’ve been playing in Chapel Hill for 18 years. The first time I saw them I was in the eighth grade, coming from Cary to see a show at the Cat’s Cradle, and I thought they were awesome.”
Yet, Thomas acknowledges that the barbecue has had an issue with student attendance since the start of the school year, which she attributes to studying and the arrival of colder weather.
“We’re hoping that we’ll fix this issue of getting students to come out. I’m not really sure what that’s going to take at this point, maybe changing it to another day or having it at another time, but it’s really important to get the word out to students, in my opinion at least,” she said.
Both Soni and Thomas are driven to continue expanding the show.
“We are hoping to continue it into the future and make this a pretty sustainable event; hopefully we can maybe do some things on campus, just to have some more local bands and acts, whether it’d be Backyard Barbecues or other shows,” Soni said.
Meanwhile, on a more personal note, Thomas addressed her outlook on the barbecue’s future with a nostalgic and impassioned reverence.
“These shows started such a long time ago, and it really means a lot to me to keep up that tradition. I want to keep this up as long as I can,” she said.
Contact the desk editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com.
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