On a sunny fall afternoon, Norse Code Radio (NCR) turned a cove on campus into a concert venue on Friday — Live at the Loch. This event drew students, friends and family to The Oakley & Eva G. Farris Amphitheater. A small crowd of about 10 grew to over 25 people as the music caught the ears of passersby.
NKU’s student-run radio station organized Live at the Loch to give student musicians an opportunity to perform and practice live. This fall’s show featured acts by Dogmutt, Noah Wheelock and Maintenance Bay.
Izaac Gomez, NCR’s program director, said this event serves to recognize students beyond grades and majors.
“Students out there who are trying to get their name in other ways, you know, not just through their degree, but through their talents and their hobbies as well. I think that’s really important,” he said.
Gomez also wanted performers to know there’s no pressure.
“We just want this one to be more fun and for them to feel at ease…we want them to know, [if] they mess up, that’s fine. That’s a mistake that they…can learn off of,” he said.
The second set, a solo act by Dogmutt, featured upbeat strums and alternative vocals. Phones popped up to record, and applause echoed over the pond after every song.
From the stage, he thanked NCR for the event that “makes me feel really a part of NKU.”
Noah Wheelock followed with an old radio mic and rich riffs from an electric guitar.
“Singer songwriter, I guess, is the genre you could say,” Wheelock said. “Folk music is a lot of what I’m inspired by.”
He said Live at the Lock provides a “nice” outlet to play publicly, even if it’s just once a semester.
“I think it’s great getting to, like, know a lot of other student musicians. I think it’s good for building community,” Wheelock said.
The energy in the stands shifted as Maintenance Bay claimed the sunken stage.
The four-piece band’s songs rang through the audience: snares hissing, bass booming. A handful of students left the stands to dance on stage.
Vocalist Chris Mullarkey jumped onto a row and encouraged the students to “go crazy,” prompting a small mosh.
Rikki Bennett, sister of lead guitarist Reid Bennett, said the band describes its sound as “nondenominational metal.”
Reid Bennett is studying to be a music teacher at NKU. This was the band’s first time performing in a setting like this. His sister talked about their appreciation for the atmosphere.
“It’s a better vibe outside…the wind was really working in their favor,” Rikki Bennett said. “There’s so much more room for them to play here than where they are used to playing,
Heads bopped and whipped on and off stage. Maintenance Bay’s hardcore tunes carried depth and meaning. Mullarkey dedicated one of their final songs to a childhood teacher of his who had recently passed away.
He “really looked up to” the man who taught him gym, math and music.
“He treated me like an adult,” Mullarkey said. “Listened to me when I had something to say.”
NCR plans to present another show next year.
“We’re trying to push for two, so one during this semester, and then another one in the spring semester,” Gomez said.
As Maintenance Bay was packing up, Rikki Bennett had a question for anyone who didn’t make it.
“Why weren’t you here?” she said. “Honestly? What did you have to do that was better?”