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A long time ago in a city 3 hours up I-95, I worked in a number of capacities for 95.5 WBRU. Of the roles I filled, my favorite and the one that remains the most meaningful to me in retrospect was the time I spent running the local music show.I imagine most small-market cities have similar scenes bubbling just beneath the surface, but Providence's was mine, and I'll always look back fondly on the time I spent there working with bands like Zox, Monty Are I (Monty's Fan Club back then...), M-80, Mona, Turning Blue, The Complaints, Bridges Fell (who I wrote about recently) and so many more.
The hardest part of running that show was the frustrating reality that as good as so much of that music was, the chances of it being played on the air at any time other than Tuesday night from 12-1 am was (with very few exceptions) essentially nil.
Ever so slowly over the past few years, with the success of a few bands from the area on the national scene, and a programming staff that regularly pushes the envelope, the situation for local music has been improving.
The WBRU Summer Concert Series is a time-honored tradition in Providence; it draws some big names (their first show this year was Death Cab), and often includes local bands as openers. This year, with their second show, they're really stepping up their efforts and devoting their whole second show to Providence's own. This whole post is my long-winded way of saying I'm proud of them, I guess. Way to go, guys. Keep it up. Represent.
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