Music

Indie Radio in Action

Blugold Radio hosts Confluence patio concert, Prince tribute

V1 Staff, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

ROCK N ROLL’S LATEST GREATEST PATIO. Blugold Radio will host a free patio concert at Haymarket Landing on Aug. 25 featuring Dames, Idle Empress, and The Heart Pills
ROCK N ROLL’S LATEST GREATEST PATIO. Blugold Radio will host a free patio concert at Haymarket Landing on Aug. 25 featuring Dames, Idle Empress, and The Heart Pills

Local independent radio station Blugold Radio 99.9FM is kicking off this fall semester with a stellar pair of one-of-a-kind music events including a patio concert at Haymarket Landing and a tribute to the late great Prince.

First off, in collaboration with the forthcoming Confluence Arts Center, the radio station is hosting three local bands – Dames, Idle Empress, and The Heart Pills – for a special outdoor concert on the Haymarket Landing patio overlooking the construction site of the new arts center on August 25 at 7pm. It’s totally free, but it caps off at 250 attendees, so the event sold out in just under 20 minutes.

“There has been a great deal of planning, progress, construction, and excitement for the future. But it’s time we get back to basics and showcase what Eau Claire and the Confluence is all about – great local artists in a great local venue celebrating together.”
Blugold Radio Station Manager Scott Morfitt said in a press release. “With all the current national attention being paid to this scene, we are working very hard to create more opportunities and spaces to celebrate the depth of great talent we have here.”

And secondly, Blugold Radio has the rare opportunity to showcase two guitars from legendary artist Prince’s personal guitar collection on Sept. 14. Plus, the station is planning a Prince tribute show called Partyup the next day on Sept. 15 at UW-Eau Claire’s Schofield Auditorium with Eau Claire electronic artist Sloslylove doing intricate Prince-inspired beats before Jenny and the Lost Boys take the stage to play iconic cuts from the Purple One’s legendary song catalog.

Blugold Radio is seizing the opportunity and calling the two-day Prince-a-palooza their grand opening as a way to introduce students and the community to their new studio space in the university’s McIntyre Library. The Prince guitars are on loan from the collection of Jaque Bethke, owner of Pure Design Environments. During the grand opening, people will have a chance to see the guitars in person and on Sept. 15 hear them played outside the Blugold Radio studio. Area musicians will play the guitars and there will be a demonstration by local guitar pedal wizards, Dwarfcraft Devices.

Tickets for the tribute concert – $10 for the public and $5 for students – are available now at the UW-Eau Claire Service Center and through BlugoldRadio.org.

“There are so many things to be excited about with this two-day event,” Morfitt said. “It is quite humbling to put on a tribute for Prince, who had an amazing impact both on this region and the world.”