Next semester, get ready to rock around the streets of Pullman and Moscow.

KZUU, a student-run radio station at WSU that airs lesser-known music, has plans to revive the Pullman-Moscow live music scene in the spring. 

General manager Caden Blessing said KZUU will invite lesser-known artists to perform live at various local venues and Kazzufest, a music festival the station used to host every year.

Head music manager Ashlyn Taylor said these events go back to KZUU’s desire to highlight smaller artists.

“A lot of the time, [smaller artists] don’t get that opportunity to perform a live show, or share their music with that many people in one setting at once,” Taylor said.

Blessing said he was working with both on- and off-campus venue owners to bring back the local live music scene. Starting in January and February, Blessing said these venues will hold concerts featuring about two to three local bands per show.

In April, KZUU will host a weekend-long music festival called Kazzufest. Blessing said KZUU is inviting musical talent from Seattle, Portland, Boise, Pullman and Spokane to perform live in Pullman for the festival. This Kazzufest will be the first the station has hosted since 2018.

Blessing said KZUU members also hold house shows that are not sponsored by the station but are open to the public and feature bands the members are a part of.

“Pullman needs more live music being played and music discourse and everything, and that’s something that we definitely really want to work on, … to try to bring more of that to Pullman,” Taylor said.

In order to host these events, Blessing said KZUU is also going to fundraise next semester. Making and selling merchandise is one of KZUU’s top priorities, Blessing said, and the station also has plans to hold bake sales and do on-air fundraising alongside alumni.

Social media manager Chloe Woodward said the primary reason why KZUU hosts live music events is to go back to its roots as a radio station.

“Having these shows and inviting these artists is kind of a part of being a small, local, underground radio station, to … encourage people to tune into our station or be a part of our station,” Woodward said. “I think it’s really just about getting ourselves out there and getting the artists that we care about a chance to have their music showcased.”

Taylor said that while indie rock is KZUU’s most frequently aired genre of music, the station has started to branch out to hip hop, country, reggae, indie folk and more. According to KZUU’s website, the station has recently aired jazz artist J. Maya, post-punk band Liiek and pop artist Jax.

Listeners can tune into KZUU on 90.7 FM or through their website. For updates on upcoming live music events, visit KZUU’s Instagram, Twitter and TikTok pages. KZUU is also available for contact via e-mail at [email protected].

Taylor said KZUU’s general slogan is, “good music doesn’t play itself.”

“All of us at the station really do feel like the best music comes from people who aren’t given as many chances to play their music for big audiences compared to other artists,” Taylor said. “So giving them a platform to … share their passion for music just as much as we have a passion for listening to their music is really important to us.”