'Something for everybody': 48 hours of records to be played this weekend during Vinylthon

Vinyl records will be spinning all weekend in the studio of 88.9FM WRDL at Ashland University.

Disc jockeys will broadcast 48 hours of continuous vinyl from 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, according to Derek Wood, the station's manager and an instructor of journalism and digital media at AU.

"You can listen online," Wood said. "Any device can access WRDL on your favorite streaming platforms. Simply search 88.9 WRDL and you can find the streaming platform and access it that way."

Listeners can request songs by tagging the station on social media, or by calling the studio at 419-207-4889.

'I feel some sense of connection with vinyl'

This weekend's program is part of Vinylthon, a national event organized annually by the College Radio Foundation, a non-profit charity in New Jersey.

This is the seventh year the college's station will take part in the program.

The radio Vinylthon event coincides with Record Store Day, a national observance taking place Saturday. Record Store Day began in 2007 and is held in April and on Black Friday each year to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store."

The stores receive shipments of new, limited-edition vinyl released just for the occasion.

Vinyl records have returned to popularity in recent years — they've even outsold CDs four years in a row.

"I happen to be a record collector myself," Wood said. "I feel some sense of connection with vinyl. As a consumer of that song and as a fan of that band or that artist, I get to feel connected with that music at a deeper level than clicking on my phone or clicking a mouse and listening to a song. There's a warmth there, I think."

'There's something for everybody during Vinylthon'

The weekend of vinyl will feature timeless classics as well as modern hits.

Disk jockeys will include students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the university. The program will include stories and reminiscing.

"The uniqueness of Vinylthon is it's not just who's on the air and what they're playing, but it's also the why they're playing it," Wood said. "Some of them haven’t been on campus in 30 plus years and are coming back because of Vinylthon and getting together with their old roommates and college buddies."

Listeners are welcome to tune in as many times over the weekend as possible.

"We try to encourage people to listen all night long," Wood said. "There's something for everybody during Vinylthon and we will literally play anything."

ztuggle@gannett.com

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