CMI fall festival introduces student band scene
Colby Music Incubator (CMI) is a club that supports college bands by providing gear and resources, holding events, and sharing a gathering place. The idea for a spring festival had been floating around since last year, but the pandemic put the event on hold. When everything on campus was cancelled for the rest of the spring semester, CMI rescheduled the festival for the fall.
Sophie Nacht ‘23, a co-president of the club, said the planning for this postponed event started in July and included a signature poster and a food truck to enhance the festival feel.
“Initially we thought a huge festival would be possible, but we talked to SPB about a socially distanced event.”
On Saturday, Sept. 19, six bands performed, including Topsy as a headliner. Nacht plays guitar in Basement Picnic, another band that performed at the festival.
CMI estimates there are ten active bands on campus, and they are working to expand their presence as a club. Nacht said the club administration is hoping to buy some new guitars, amps, basses, and gear to make playing music more accessible.
“It has felt exclusive because of being mostly men and white in the past. We want to make it an inclusive space where anyone can walk in and play.”
CMI can form a new branch of the social scene on campus with more concerts, Nacht explained.
“Pre-COVID we were hoping to have concerts every month, get more people, have more bands, and become a larger aspect of the social scene.”
“It was the first time I’d been in a crowd and it felt normal.”
CMI traditionally holds a Halloween concert, and cold weather combined with COVID precautions could limit the audience capacity. If the event were held inside, only 50 people could attend at one time. Nacht is confident that another festival could be held outdoors later this fall, even when temperatures drop.
“Colby is used to dealing with Maine winters. We’re not the type of people who go indoors when it gets cold but put on a layer and do the same thing.”
Without the restrictions COVID places upon group gatherings, Nacht said they would have expected a larger turnout and livelier crowd.
“We were just glad we could make it happen at all.”
As a completely student-run club, there is a balance to strike in the practice room of Bob’s basement. The flexibility of open studio times to sign up for is one way the club can integrate more members. Nacht’s goal is to make CMI a more established piece of life at Colby, like Mary Low Coffee House.
“Our hope is that with more people everyone can mingle and have a community sense.”
The social scene was an original purpose of the organization, a place to enjoy music even for students not already in a band. Compared to the academic music curriculum and more formal musical groups and organizations on campus, CMI is meant to be a club for fun.
“The practice room functions like a common room. Half our band practice is just joking and hanging out.”
The social aspect is a major factor for CMI, and more widespread involvement will ensure that there is always a show to go to.
“If we can get more people in bands, we can have more events.”
Nacht characterized CMI as its own scene, separate from athletics and academics, and hopes to pull in more students who are serious about music in an environment different from studying music.
Over the past few years, CMI has been working to address the concern that music is not a visible social scene. Maintaining and growing the budget, publicity, and participation could transform the music scene at Colby, especially for people who play music and aren’t aware of the opportunities CMI creates for forming, joining, and watching bands.
“My hope is that they’ll watch and see these people do it and be empowered to want to do it too.”
In addition to playing guitar in Basement Picnic, Nacht mentioned her hope to start another band and play the drums for an experience with a different instrument and music style. Nacht emphasized that CMI allows musicians to branch out, even without total confidence.
She recalled thinking as the festival approached:
“It doesn’t matter if we don’t sound our best at this concert. The fact that we can play together and have fun even with everything going on right now makes me feel really lucky.”
Since the labor-intensive logistical work kept her from playing music, Nacht wants CMI to develop an executive board to delegate the work of coordinating gear, event marketing, finalizing setlists, and band communication and commitment.
Olivia Wandres ‘21 is the other co-president of CMI, and said she loves playing in a band most, but also appreciates the administrative side which involves managing musicians and organizing events.
“It was super fun Saturday putting on a show, A: watching how happy people are performing, and B: seeing who comes out for the shows.”
Wandres said everyone involved put in a lot of work to pull together a September show, the first time CMI had held a festival in this fashion.
“New club, seeing how much it’s grown over the last four years and in the past year, laying the groundwork for the future of the club.”
Wandres also works for the new arts collaboration going up downtown, and is on the board for the new performing arts center. She said this will ensure that CMI gets a designated space and can even expand downtown, possibly holding shows there in the spring.
The balance of old and new applies to practice spaces, which Wandres said must include the murals on the walls that are a tradition in Bob’s. As CMI gains more members, they hope to see more people at the concerts, and specifically different types of people at the concerts.
“I would love more people to come out so we can have more diverse music and bands. Everyone has a signature sound.”
The same hope applies to the audience. Wandres mentioned expanding outreach to people from different backgrounds, minimizing the divide she sees between people on sports teams and everyone else.
“Then it’s not as underground or surprising every time we put on a show.”
One type of event that brings together different missions and organizations across campus is a benefit concert, like last year’s Rock and Roe fundraiser for Planned Parenthood. Wandres said CMI hopes to be involved in another fundraiser and to collaborate with other events on campus in general.
“We’re working toward a more public, more accessible, more diverse group of people and music.”
~ Molly George `23
