Here’s all you need to know about Double Barrel Benefit 22, February 6 and 7, 2026!
Category: Station News
What’s going on at WKNC?
For the sixth year in a row, WKNC would like to share the top albums and songs enjoyed by our DJs and staff in 2025! A spotify playlist containing all songs is available here.
Scrimble (Sarah), General Manager and DJ
Top Albums
- Rebecca Black – “Salvation”
- Addison Rae – “Addison”
- shego – “No lo volveré a hacer”
Top Songs
- After – “Deep Diving”
- FKA Twigs – “Cheap Hotel”
- Alexandra Savior – “Unforgivable”
cashmere woods (Roxby), Underground Music Director and DJ
Top Albums
- Racing Mount Pleasant – “Racing Mount Pleasant”
- Wednesday – “Bleeds”
- Jason Isbell – “Foxes in the Snow”
Top Songs
- Racing Mount Pleasant – “Emily”
- Mike & Tony Seltzer – “Dolemite”
- Oldstar – “Christmas”
Mayday (Lindsay), DJ
Top Albums
- Geese – “Getting Killed”
- Baxter Dury – “Allbarone”
- Turnstile – “NEVER ENOUGH”
Top Songs
- Geese – “Taxes”
- Joyce Manor – “Well, Whatever It Was”
- Dove Ellis – “Pale Song”
DJ Sles (Alex), Lounge Director, Video Content Creator and DJ
Top Albums
- Weatherday – “Hornet Disaster”
- They are gutting a body of water – “LOTTO”
- Winter – “Adult Romantix”
Top Songs
- They are gutting a body of water – “American Food”
- Winter – “Misery”
- Weatherday – “Angel”
Wizard of Gore (Amber), Chainsaw Music Director and DJ
Top Albums
- Clipse – “Let God Sort Em Out”
- Zeicrydeus – “Le grande hérésie”
- Shāhanshāh – “Faryād: Barpākhiz! Rastākhiz!”
Top Songs
- Swans – “(Rope) Away”
- Dead and Dripping – “Swollen Torsos Adorned With Pulsating Hexagonal Crania”
- billy woods – “Lead Paint Test (ft. ELUCID and Cavalier)”
Orbital Deathlaser (Joy), DJ
Top Albums
- Machine Girl – “PsychoWarrior: MG Ultra X”
- psychoangel – “sounds of future breakbeat”
- Jane Remover – “Revengeseekerz”
Top Songs
- Machine Girl – “Come On Baby, Scrape My Data”
- Snail’s House – “Moon Rabbit”
- Jane Remover – “TURN UP OR DIE”
Categories
Best of WKNC Awards 2025
On April 7, student radio station WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 announced its inaugural Best of WKNC award winners.
“Each year, more than 100 students spend time DJing or creating content for WKNC and the Best of WKNC awards are a way to honor the exemplary talent we have on our staff,” said Jamie Lynn Gilbert, Student Media Associate Director and WKNC’s adviser.
Sarah Hernando, Daytime (indie rock) Music Director, was honored as Best DJ for “Scrimble’s Bad Music Hour.”
“Every Thursday night at midnight, Scrimble unleashes her Bad Music Hour, a celebration of music’s most unconventional corners,” Hernando wrote in her submission. “From Minecraft parodies and Glee covers to TikTok hits and Eurovision anthems, no genre is too quirky—or too ‘bad’—for the Bad Music Hour. In this program, Scrimble analyzes the concept of ‘bad music,’ challenging listeners to embrace the joy of an embarrassing music taste while playing cat-themed music with Reggie. Bad Music Hour is more than a show—it’s a rebellion against the mundane and pretentious, proving that even the weirdest tunes can be unforgettable.”
Spencer Grattan, Afterhours (electronic) Music Director, won the Best Interview award for his conversation with Matt Stephenson of Machine Girl and concertgoers in November 2024. DJ Sophia Cunningham provided graphics for the interview and podcast.
Ryann Horn, Social Media Content Creator, won Best Graphic Design for her work on WKNC’s Double Barrel Benefit 21 concert poster.
“As a Social Media Content Creator for WKNC, I’ve designed many graphics for both print and social media, but working on posters for Double Barrel Benefit has been my most exciting project,” Horn wrote in her submission. “Designing for DBB 20 and 21 was not only an incredible honor but also an amazing learning experience. For DBB 21, I was tasked with creating a Valentine’s-themed poster, which challenged me to approach the design from an interesting perspective and resulted in a piece I’m especially proud of. Now, as a senior, I’m reflecting on the skills I’ve gained and the work I’ve created in this role. I’m excited to take these experiences with me after graduation!”
The contest was announced in February, with nominations solicited from staff through March 15. Entries were voted on by current staff, with winners announced on April 7 in an online ceremony. Each winner received an engraved medal.
WKNC General Manager Rose Kelley and Station Adviser Jamie Lynn Gilbert presented “I’m In Charge. Now What?” at the College Broadcasters, Inc. National Student Media Convention Oct. 23-26 in Seattle. Steven Hames of Viking Fusion at Berry College joined the WKNC crew for the presentation. The long-running session offers practical advice on how to manage a student-run electronic media outlet as a new leader including writing job descriptions, setting goals, running effective meetings, conflict resolution, delegation and time management.
Kelley was also joined by Clara Ketchell from KJHK at University of Kansas for “The Ins and Outs of Managing a Content Team.” Both former content managers, Kelley and Ketchell offered advice on how to handle teams of bloggers, videographers, interviewers, podcasters and sportscasters. Besides managing communication and deadlines, a key takeaway from the session was to train your staff how to do their job properly, offering gentle correction as needed, so the content manager doesn’t spend all their time fixing mistakes.
Gilbert presented “Digital Accessibility for Student Media,” which underscored the importance of providing transcripts for all podcasts and videos, alt text on images for websites and social media, and ensuring designs have appropriate color contrast. Gilbert gave the same presentation at Student Media’s department-wide training day on Sept. 21.
Promotions Director Mason Baker, Public Affairs Director Emilia Rivadeneira, Daytime Music Director Sarah Hernando and Program Director Willow Sessions joined Kelley and Jennette and Gilbert at the convention.
More than 400 students, advisers/managers and professionals from around the country attended the three-day event. As part of the educational mission of Student Media, WKNC publishes the students’ summaries (PDF) so others can learn from the conference.
Categories
WKNC wins college media awards
A WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 DJ has been named among the best in the country.
Emma Bookhardt, a third-year student studying English and communication, earned first place in the best DJ personality category in College Media Association’s 2024 Film and Audio Festival. On the air as Bodhi, Bookhardt hosts “Reel-to-Reel,” a weekly two-hour program that takes a deep dive into the intersection of movies and music. In her award-winning submission, she examined the 1977 classic “Smokey and the Bandit” with music from the film and the time period explored it in. Other episodes have explored “Dazed and Confused,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “Animal House.” “Reel-to-Reel” airs Fridays from 8-10 a.m. on WKNC 88.1 FM.
Film and Audio Festival winners were announced at the Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association’s Fall National College Media Convention, held Oct. 29-Nov. 2 in New Orleans.
College Media Association also presented its individual and organizational Pinnacle awards at the convention. WKNC Public Affairs Content Creator Ellie Feaga, who graduated in May 2024, was awarded third place for audio newscast for “Eye on the Triangle Weekly News Jan. 29, 2024.” WKNC was also named third place for Radio Station of the Year. This was WKNC’s ninth year as a finalist for the award.
WKNC also received honors from the College Media Business and Advertising Managers at their national convention Nov. 7-9 in Philadelphia.
Bookhardt’s “Reel-to-Reel” took another top finish, this time in Best Digital Self Promotion Ad for “Reel-to-Reel Presents: Hello, I’m…Johnny Knoxville?” The March 8, 2024 episode included tracks by Johnny Cash, Southern Culture on the Skids, and Guided by Voices.
WKNC’s final award was second place Best Promotion Audio Ad for “Jazz in my Radio” to advertise WKNC’s “Sunset” jazz music block, airing Sundays from 6 p.m. to midnight. The ad was voiced by Spencer Grattan, a fourth-year student studying computer science, and produced by Claire Conklin, a May 2024 graduate.
Categories
WKNC provides live election coverage
Student radio station WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 joined college media outlets nationwide to provide 24-hour election coverage as part of Student News Live.
Created as a non-partisan news hub to amplify the voices of student journalists, Student News Live coordinated a live audio and video feed starting at noon ET on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Marshall University from Huntington, West Virginia started and ended the 24-hour broadcast and was joined by student journalists from North Carolina State University, William Paterson University (NJ), Wayne State College (NE), Harrison High School (GA), Syracuse University (NY), State University of New York at Old Westbury, Ohio University, Metropolitan State University (CO), Grand Valley State University (MI), Kutztown University (PA), University of Texas-Arlington, Ashland University (OH), University of West Georgia, Santa Monica College (CA), Texas A&M University, California State University-Fullerton, University of California-Berkley, University of Cork (Ireland) and Centenary University (NJ).
WKNC at NC State took the midnight to 1 a.m. slot. Public affairs director and “Eye on the Triangle” host Emilia Rivadeneira, a fourth-year student studying political science and communication, divided her hour into two, 30-minute segments.
Rivadeneira was joined live by Mac McCorkle, Professor of the Practice in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, and Elizabeth Lane, Assistant Professor of Political Science at NC State. They offered an analysis of the election results, including the impact of Donald Trump’s win in North Carolina, the N.C. Supreme Court race, the citizenship voting amendment, and the future of North Carolina voting patterns. The interview was simulcast on Student News Live and WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 and recorded for YouTube.
WKNC then considered how NC State students felt about the election in a conversation with Annabelle Rossi, a third-year student studying political science and President of Students for Immigrant Rights and Equality, and Zania Sanders, a third-year student studying science, technology and society and AYA Ambassador at the African American Cultural Center. They discussed anxiety about the election, what issues were important to college students, youth voter turnout and influences, and the role of student organizations in election advocacy.
“Collectively, we created a nationwide student journalism broadcast that offered the audience something new: the perspective of the younger generation of Americans,” wrote Rob Quicke, professor and director of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University and co-founder of Student News Live, in a post-broadcast news release. “Topics and issues of interest to this generation were probably only covered by Student News Live, and not heard elsewhere. It’s important that we shared those voices and reported from the communities that don’t get a platform or opportunity to communicate on other forms of media.”
Student News Live had more than 1,700 YouTube views on their livestream. The election coverage was produced in partnership with iHeartRadio, PBS News Student Reporting Labs and West Virgina Public Broadcasting.
Written by Mason Baker, WKNC Promotions Director
On Friday, Oct. 4, WKNC is set to host the fourth annual 24-hour celebration of World College Radio Day.
Starting in 2012, over 600 colleges across the globe have participated in the annual World College Radio Day. October 4th will mark the fourth year WKNC has participated in the festivities, boasting 24 hours of non-stop DJ sets on our HD-1 and HD-2 channels, with a healthy assortment of entertainment on our Production Room livestreams.
WKNC will kick off the day on HD-1 with our electronic and pop block Afterhours and rap and R&B block Underground from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. Afterwards is our indie rock block Daytime from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. rounded out by our metal Chainsaw block from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Additionally, our HD-2 schedule is chock full of music of all genres, including a smattering of sets from our newly trained DJs.
In addition to the live broadcast, WKNC will host a 24-hour livestream on both YouTube and Twitch. During the stream, you can catch such exhilarating activities as WKNC Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, LEGO building, PowerPoint presentations, detective work and many more.
“I’m so excited for World College Radio Day this year! This is going to be the fourth year in a row we have celebrated it, and each year it’s only gotten better,” said Rose Kelly, WKNC’s current general manager. “It’s such an incredible way to connect with other DJs, and I know everyone is looking forward to it so much!”
WKNC HD-1 can be heard throughout the Triangle on 88.1 FM. Our HD-2 channel can be heard on HD-enabled radios. Both stations stream online at wknc.org/listen and through our Live365 mobile apps.
Schedules for WKNC HD-1, HD-2 and Production Room Livestream are below. Do note these schedules are subject to change.
WKNC HD-1 Schedule
| Time | DJ | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| 12-1 a.m. | Big Anthony/Steel Nipz | all the music they wouldn’t let me play during the day |
| 1-2 a.m. | dj paruko/dirty chai | THIS WCRD WE ARE NUKING YOUR SPEAKERS |
| 2-3 a.m. | DJ Southpaw/perfume charms | afterhours x underground yaoi?? |
| 3-4 a.m. | chalcopyrite (with special guests the Dungeon Master and the Crypt Keeper) | Chalcopyrite and two wizards get sucked into a strange, twisting, alternate Forest. Together, they must not stray from the path in their quest to escape. |
| 4-5 a.m. | DJ Mithrax | AFTERHOURS? I BARELY KNOW HER!!!! |
| 5-6 a.m. | johnny ghost | The Radioman is speaking, and the Radioman says it is a beautiful night out there in Raleigh. (mostly big beat techno/sample heavy stuff) |
| 6-7 a.m. | JustinTime | playing alt country just before sunrise |
| 7-8 a.m. | perfume charms / animus worm | Japanese & English Post-Hardcore |
| 8-9 a.m. | Bodhi | Your love letter to movies through music: 1940s Halloween – Aresenic & Old Lace |
| 9-10 a.m. | DJ Tullykinesis | NOT Vocaloid!! (daytime with a tiny touch of afterhours) |
| 10-11 a.m. | auxymoron & DJ Mithrax | Playing the greatest hits from Yo Gabba Gabba’s hit recurring segment, “The Super Music Friends Show”, featuring your favorite Super Music Friends, DJ Mithrax and auxymoron! |
| 11 a.m.-12 p.m. | DJ Crush | Spookiest songs heralded by your spookiest host |
| 12-1 p.m. | dj rodent | music you can squeak to – worldwide rock, psychedelia, and shoegaze. |
| 1-2 p.m. | Claymore | mixture set, like anything is game |
| 2-3 p.m. | lagomorph & table | WORLD EMO |
| 3-4 p.m. | Maddog | My 2014 playlist #lit |
| 4-5 p.m. | President Shrimpo/DJ Southpaw | Do you like rock and roll? Do you enjoy eating raw onions like apples? Would you vote for President Shrimpo for four nonconsecutive presidential terms? If you said yes to any of these questions you should listen to Fireside Chats with President Shrimpo Pop! Fireside Chats is the preeminent place to find music on this hemisphere of the Earth, so listen or you’ll feel a great sense of emptiness in your life! |
| 5-6 p.m. | Fullmetal Racket/DMC Woodstock | bassline b2b livemix |
| 6-7 p.m. | Wizard of Gore | All of the best from across the metal spectrum, with lots of death metal and underground extreme metal |
| 7-8 p.m. | Sleepyhead | Metalcore/Post Hardcore/Emo |
| 8-9 p.m. | Kjdoggy/DJ REAM | Queens of the scream. Female fronted metal bands only ;p |
| 9-10 p.m. | Lead Pipe | Do you like strange metal music that would scare your grandparents? Then you’ll like the Sewage System Symphony. Here, we play metal in all its unholy glory in every one of its ungodly forms. Stick here and listen, or else… |
| 10-11 p.m. | Claymore | Gaming metal |
| 11 p.m.-12 a.m. | DJ Mithrax | metal, punk and very silly |
WKNC HD-2 Schedule
| Time | DJ | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| 12-1 a.m. | DJ Vile | The Garden + their billion side projects + other bands that sound similar to them |
| 1-2 a.m. | DJ Cherryheadache | Love and joy and whimsy and kindness |
| 2-3 a.m. | DJ Vile, DJ Waterboy | Hardcore |
| 3-4 a.m. | table | psychic medium contacts the dead (GONE WRONG) |
| 4-5 a.m. | perfume charms | oldhead scaring music |
| 5-6 a.m. | shmulik | folk, psychedelic, soft rock, and other laurel canyon-y sounds |
| 6-7 a.m. | Small creature | little bit of a groovy funk experience |
| 7-8 a.m. | dj cornbread, j | footwork/house adjacent chunes |
| 8-9 a.m. | table | CRAZY HYPERFLIP MEGAMIX *O* |
| 9-10 a.m. | DJ Mucas & DJ Mithrax | random stuff with some punk perchance? |
| 10-11 a.m. | DJ Mucas | Punk and almost punk. Expect ska |
| 11 a.m.-12 p.m. | DJ Babesicle | NC based bands 🙂 |
| 12-1 p.m. | Klementine | feel good, sweet, calm music |
| 1-2 p.m. | Mythos | songs like east by earl sweatshirt |
| 2-3 p.m. | Klementine | feel good, loud, fervent music |
| 3-4 p.m. | DJ Moto | Moto takes you on a sonic journey throughout his mind. |
| 4-5 p.m. | DJ Eysa and DJ Rani | kpop set except we vote on who has better songs (sudden death!) |
| 5-6 p.m. | Rodeo Romeo | Oldies that will have you dancing like there’s no tomorrow |
| 6-7 p.m. | Origen | A sampling of modern (and not nazist yes that’s somehow an issue here too) neofolk |
| 7-8 p.m. | DJ REAM | One more time? |
| 8-9 p.m. | DJ Southpaw | trust me its more than an MF DOOM set |
| 9-10 p.m. | moonbytes | death rock / post punk |
| 10-11 p.m. | DJ Crush | Old and new K-Pop alike |
| 11 p.m.-12 a.m. | Big Anthony | 1990s/2000s R&B |
WKNC Livestream Schedule
| Time | Host & Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 12-1 a.m. | chalcopyrite – Bad Music Quiz Bowl | we got double bad music hour. test your knowledge of the worst music ever made |
| 1-2 a.m. | Big Anthony – Glee Plots: Real or Fake? | Glee has absurd storylines but can you tell which ones are made up by me and other station gleeks? |
| 2-3 a.m. | JustinTime – Geoguessr | I play geoguessr with others |
| 3-4 a.m. | DJ Sleepy Sleep | [honk shoo we are sleeping] |
| 4-5 a.m. | DJ Sleepy Sleep | [honk shoo we are sleeping] |
| 5-6 a.m. | DJ Sleepy Sleep | [honk shoo we are sleeping] |
| 6-7 a.m. | DJ Sleepy Sleep | [honk shoo we are sleeping] |
| 7-8 a.m. | DJ Sleepy Sleep | [honk shoo we are sleeping] |
| 8-9 a.m. | WKNC Fall Craft Hour | join your 2 favorite hosts as they share hacks, tips, and tricks for fall crafts! |
| 9-10 a.m. | DJ Crush – WKNC Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader | No, the answer is probably no |
| 10-11 a.m. | DJ Pon-3 – Man Bites Dog | In 2018 I went to the Mall of America and bought this card game. It’s time to take it out of the plastic. |
| 11 a.m.-12 p.m. | DJ Southpaw – The Promo Hour | have you wanted a promo for your set? stop by to get one recorded since you’ll be in the station anyway |
| 12-1 p.m. | ||
| 1-2 p.m. | DJ Crush & President Shrimpo – WKNC Cold Cases: The Poopening | Two of WKNC’s okayest detectives try to solve the crime of the century |
| 2-3 p.m. | DJ Sles – LEGO Building | I love LEGOs! |
| 3-4 p.m. | DJ Southpaw – Where’s The Radio? | play some custom Geoguessr maps of various college radio stations made by me |
| 4-5 p.m. | [DJ Name TBD] – Metal Lyrics or Edgy Rant? | Is the provided text metal/punk lyrics? or an incel/edgelord rant? Find out in our game show! |
| 5-6 p.m. | Lagomorph – Smash Bros Bracket | We got games, we got platforms, we got fighters… Bracket type tournament free to enter with small prizes |
| 6-7 p.m. | ||
| 7-8 p.m. | President Shrimpo – Powerpoint Night | PowerPoints. At night. |
| 8-9 p.m. | DJ Tullykinesis – WKNCcore Album Cover Skribblio | I make a Skribblio with the names of many classic album covers and everyone tries to draw and guess them! |
| 9-10 p.m. | Wizard of Gore – Guess The Metal Band From The Logo | Making people try to read increasingly incomprehensible band logos |
| 10-11 p.m. | DJ Southpaw – WKNC Family Trees | time to update the family tree! featuring all our new DJs over the past semester or two. |
| 11 p.m.-12 a.m. | chalcopyrite + dmc woodstock – Electronic Music Genres: Real or Fake? | we present electronic subgenre names and the non-brainrotted kncers have to guess if it’s real, fake, or real to 5 people. will be harder than you think |