Free Yr Radio

Around a month ago, the west end of Pearl Street was crawling with tight-panted/drastically banged girls and boys. It was scene in full force, something I’m admittedly and totally comfortable with- – but rarely confronted with in such throngs this side of Denver. Turns out, the root of the buzz was (commence “Jaws” soundtrack) Urban Outfitters, who had sent out a select number of invites to see ManMan play their Boulder store. The event was only one of a series of in-store concerts taking place around the country that were arranged to support the Free Yr Radio campaign, a collaborative effort between Urban Outfitters and Yaris to give back to college radio stations. As much as I hate saying good stuff about UO anywhere other than in my diary, I’m going relax my guard just long enough to throw some very serious support their way — because Lord knows indie-radio deserves some credit, and Urban/Yaris deserve credit for actually giving it to them. Free Yr Radio, which was officially kicked off at this year’s SXSW, helps to support indie radio through a series of events that generate funds and awareness for a handful of stations. Well-loved bands (like Klaxons, Tapes N’ Tapes, and Dinosaur Jr.) are putting on free shows at UO locations through the end of July. After the shows, the bands huddle up to customize a Yaris, then hand the Yaris off to a local station (who can then use the car to generate some funds). Even though this is a blatant marketing tactic (between two brands obviously in the market for hipster recognition), I still love it, because it once again demonstrates how big companies can do really, really good things. You can read up on the details of the campaign here, and see a full concert line-up after the jump…