As UW-Eau Claire cannot hold group gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University Activities Commission provides students with virtual events to grant more opportunities for campus engagement.

In the past, the UAC hosted music and other live performances at The Cabin, where two regional performers would come each semester and locals or students were able to debut their own work. 

Since the Cabin is right on lower campus, it gave students a perfect space to hang out and enjoy some music every weekend.

These shows were welcoming not only students, but community members, too. They had a wide range of different genre performances, including:

• Featured artist
• Local talents
• Open stage
• Jazz at Night 
• Improv

Joann Martin, the coordinator of student activities, said this year was going to look a little bit different than past years.

“The UAC staff needed to find a way for The Cabin performances to continue while keeping the community, performers, staff and students safe,” Martin said. 

Martin said she is working with her student staff team to figure out what’s working and what’s not as the school year continues. 

“We’re learning,” Martin said. “That is the big diamond in the rough. Being able to figure things out and to do new things.” 

With The Cabin performances being online through a partnership with TV-10’s streaming services, the UAC plans to have one live performance each week for those performers who still want to play despite the current circumstances.

“We’re going weekly and the lineup right now is looking to be more local and student performers,” Martin said. “There will be less Twin City, Madison or any traveling performers as of this moment.”

However, there is no current setlist of who will be taking the virtual stage.

The UAC goals for this upcoming school year are to try and make good things happen despite all the circumstances. With all of the uncertainty and concerns of COVID-19, it can impact students and staff in attendance, Martin said.

“It’s a very delicate dance, but we are responsible for showing up and showcasing music at the end of the day,” Martin added. “It’s limiting, but people still want to perform, and we want students to have some semblance of normal campus programming.”

The UAC already has two live streams by the “Sweater People” and Samuel Stein under their belt. Sam Stein, a third-year mathematics and music student, is one of the concert chairs for UAC and is a performer who had a few comments from both a staff and musician perspective.

“I was not expecting anything too elaborate in terms of setup, but with the help of EPC and TV-10, the shows have actually turned out far cooler than we could have hoped,” Stein said. “With multiple cameras and a full lighting system, the shows are streamed on TV-10 as well as UWEC’s live link. It definitely surpassed the standard Facebook live.”

Stein said it’s not easy being a musician during this time because nothing can replace a live audience, but with the professional setup by the student workers, he said it comes close.

The next scheduled show is at 6 p.m. on Friday, and will feature the band Uncommon Denominator, which was voted No. 1 best cover band in The Best of the Chippewa Valley Readers Poll.

Students and the community can tune into the TV-10 stream or find the link on the UAC’s Facebook page to catch this live performance.

For more information about the UAC and the programmings provided for students, and the campus, check them out on the UW-Eau Claire website here.

Huettner can be reached at [email protected].