WLOY Loyola Radio, Loyola’s student-run college radio station, participated in World College Radio Day on Friday, Oct. 6. The global marathon of college radio featured stations from the Philippines, Fiji, Greece, Italy, Colombia, Mexico, and the USA, to name a few. WLOY was selected out of 700 stations worldwide to participate in this event, and general manager Analia Cortez ‘25 highlighted the significance of this opportunity.
“There are 700 stations worldwide in 50 different countries. There were only a handful that were asked to have a 30-minute-long segment on World College Radio Day. We were one of the stations who was asked to do that, which was cool. We picked some local artists to play their music,” Cortez said.
The Baltimore artists and their songs which were played during WLOY’s segment are as follows:
Skribe – Undefined
Red Sammy – Some Days I Feel Crazy
Ebb & Nova – The Island (Goodbye)
Pressing Strings – Your Love
Modern Nomad – Can’t Explain It
Holy Circle – Heartache
The Great Heights Band – Kickstart The Feeling
Super City – Getoutta Here
To celebrate, WLOY handed out free donuts on the quad during the day, touting the slogan, “Donut Stop Listening to College Radio.”
Cortez was live on World College Radio Day and emphasized how meaningful the experience was for her as a music-lover and a college radio DJ.
“I had a show live on World College Radio Day and I was explaining that I know for me, music has always been a huge part of me, but I’m not musically talented. Playing an instrument and reading music isn’t my thing, but music itself has always played a role in my life. I knew in college it wasn’t something I was going to pursue career-wise so I was sad. So for me, being able to do my own radio show–that is all I ever could have asked for,” Cortez said.
As general manager of WLOY, Cortez oversees the other staff and helps plan events for the radio station. She began freshman year as a DJ and became a member of the staff last year. She pointed out the effort and collaboration that all the student employees at WLOY put into their work to make everything run smoothly.
“There’s no one holding our hand during everything. It’s all our work that we do and the time and effort that we all put into it. World College Radio Day highlights that because obviously college radio is much smaller than any other radio station that people listen to,” Cortez said.
WLOY continues to support local artists by bringing them in for interviews and playing their music on air. Local band Super City was in the studio on Tuesday discussing their new album which releases this week. They recently interviewed The Courettes, a band from Denmark, and two weeks ago they visited the studio while they were here for their US tour. Vakili Band from New Jersey is stopping by WLOY on Oct. 25 as part of the tour for their new third album.
Cortez made sure to promote WLOY’s upcoming Halloween celebration–their annual showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. This event will take place on Oct. 27 on the quad, featuring a costume contest and movie theater snacks. The three best-dressed costumes will win a prize!
Learn more about World College Radio Day on The College Radio Foundation’s website.
