WRCT got back to basics this weekend by throwing a techno concert on the CFA lawn, but they mixed it up a bit by having the concert benefit a local charity.

Saturday’s concert benefited Animal Friends, a no-kill animal shelter located in the Strip District. The concert was free to the public, but donations were encouraged. Over 100 people showed up to hear the lineup of three local DJs, a Youngstown DJ, and a one from DC. There was a little something for every techno lover, with DJs spinning genres from house to hip hop. This mix of music gave the audience an idea of the broad range of electronic music that is played on WRCT.

The concert’s main organizer, DJ Courtland Longest, feels as though the setup — in the evening, outdoors, and on a college campus — was unique, so a unique lineup fit the event well. Longest also found that the DJs contacted were very receptive to volunteering their time and energy because of the charity chosen.

The concerted started at 5 p.m. with DJ 7-Up spinning a set of house. At 6, Morriscode came on with his drum and bass beats, and was followed at 7 by hip-hop spun by J Skratch. At this time, the International Freestylers began break dancing on cardboard taped to the CFA patio. After J Skratch finished his set, Ryan Mathew came on to play progressive music, and finally Jen Lasher headlined with her Breakbeats.

For the past few years, WRCT has thrown about one concert per semester, primarily representing indie rock bands, and usually charging admission. Last semester, WRCT presented two concerts and aimed to do the same this semester. But this time, said WRCT General Manager Andrew Widdowson, they wanted to venture outside of the box.

Widdowson, a computer science senior, decided to organize a charity concert, since he could remember no such event in WRCT’s history. Before the indie rock craze, WRCT based a lot of its programming in the techno and beats per minute (BPM) type of music, says David Messinger, the station’s Public Relations Manager. Because they had moved away from electronic music, the volunteers for this event decided to put together a techno concert to reflect the diversity of the station.

Widdowson gave the organization committee most of the control, allowing them to chose the DJs as well as the charity to be benefited.

“I threw out some ideas, such as cancer research, but the group decided on Animal Friends since they are in the area,” said Widdowson. “We have such a strong base in the community we felt picking a local charity was a great thing to do.”

Animal Friends felt honored to be contacted by WRCT as the charity spotlighted for this event. The organization has been to campus a few times prior; this past December they were one of the Carnegie Mellon Libraries’ honored charities at their annual holiday banquet. Animal Friends feels very happy to be involved with Carnegie Mellon again, according to representative Craig Byrum.

Animal Friends is located in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. They started in 1943, when they started searching for good homes for pets left behind by the soldiers of WWII. Today, Animal Friends has enough space for 156 dogs and cats, and is currently looking for volunteers to help care for the animals by playing with them and walking the dogs. This process does require a short training course. If you would be interested in donating your time to Animal Friends, visit www.animal-friends.org or call 412.566.2103, ext. 225.

Both Longest and Widdowson feel that WRCT will be having more benefit concerts in the future and Widdowson hopes to push the envelope a bit more with the next one.

“People at WRCT do these things because they love the music, the causes, the people, and genuinely want to give back to this city and to our listening audience,” said Longest.

Except for a few minor scheduling glitches with another concert held at the CFA the concert was a success. Everyone involved had a great time, awareness about the charity was raised, and Animal Friends was able to collect over $200.