Berklee Shines at CMJ 2008

For the second straight year, Berklee crashed New York's largest music event, the CMJ Music Marathon, presenting a showcase of alumni and Heavy Rotation Records (HRR) artists. The free, all-ages concert—Saturday, October 25, at the Knitting Factory—was packed all day with a revved up crowd of alumni and regular CMJ attendees, who quickly swiped up 150 copies of the latest HRR disc, Dorm Sessions Volume 5. MC'd by Berklee alumnae Jenn Mundia and Andrea Setaro, the concert featured rock, indie-pop, funk, folk, and ambient music by Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers, Christopher Barnes, Lucius, Teletextile, Tiny Animals, and Turkuaz. The Berklee Internet Radio Network (BIRN) recorded performances and interviews at the showcase, which will begin airing on BIRN 1 and 2 in late November.

Beyond the showcase, bands with Berklee alumni were making noise at clubs throughout the city, most notably electro-rockers Passion Pit—"the true buzz band of CMJ 2008" (NME.com)—which featured ex-members of former HRR band The Peasantry. Other Berklee-affiliated acts included:

• Ambulance LTD
• Coheed & Cambria
• Edan The DJ
• Envy on the Coast
• ETAN
• Juliana Hatfield
• Jupiter One
• Kid:Nap:Kin
• Madi Diaz
• The Mae Shi
• Saves the Day
• Semi Precious Weapons
• Teenage Prayers
• TigerCity
• Tim Blane
• Via Audio
• Wye Oak
• Zambri