It’s the start of a new year on campus, and the Weisman is celebrating with a fall arts festival at the museum! The 2023 WAM-O-RAMA is Friday, September 8, 4 – 8 p.m.

Live music in the museum begins at 5 p.m. with a set by 2023 UMN Battle-of-the-Bands winner Dial Tone. followed by Harlow, and this year’s headliner FènixDion. Bohemian Press will be screenprinting on the WAM Plaza — pick up free, limited-edition posters while supplies last.

Snap a photo with your friends in the photo booth, grab a drink from Misfit Coffee, and chat with folks at the tabling fair to find out more about student arts and culture groups and programs on campus. Everything is free and open to all. Come celebrate the start of a new year with music, art and community at WAM!

About the Bands

5 p.m. – Dial Tone

2023 UMN Battle-of-the-Bands winning Dial Tone is an up-and-coming pop-punk group made up of three University of Minnesota students. Inspired by Minneapolis’ history of alternative music, their songs feature catchy guitar riffs, upbeat tempos, and lyricism that externalizes the band’s stream of consciousness.

6 p.m. – Harlow 

Described by First Ave. as “nostalgic folk rock from Twin Cities, MN. Harlow is your dog’s calm-down music, a cry with your best friend, your new break-up band.”

7 p.m. – FènixDion

“We want to be the best thing that anybody has seen in the last 10 years,” says Keston Wright. After a year of incubating in the studio with his longtime musical collaborator, the drummer Sam Bramble, his eyes smolder with the thought of unleashing their new work on stage. True to his word, Keston and Sam’s new band, FènixDion, has already made a bold entrance onto the Twin Cities music scene. One of their first shows ever was a warm-up slot in front of thousands at the Basilica Block Party in downtown Minneapolis, followed quickly by a more intimate, well-received club gig at Icehouse.

The live iteration of FenixDion includes a trio of axe slingers—Keston Wright on acoustic, Atom Lee and Mitchell Johnson on electric—radiating layers of guitar tones outward while the bassist Gavin Taylor, percussionist Nii Mensah, and drummer Sam Bramble propel the group forward with tight, funky beats. Together they create expansive, transportive, and radiant rock music that is reminiscent of greats like Lenny Kravitz, Beck, and Musicology-era Prince, but also stands on its own as a unique, exciting new addition to the kaleidoscopic Minneapolis music community.

Screenprinting by Bohemian Press

Pick up a free poster with one of four limited-edition designs, while supplies last. Bo Press will be screenprinting in the Plaza from 4 – 5 p.m., producing 400 posters, while you watch. See Bo Press artists in action, and find out more about this creative student group.

Tabling Fair

Find out more about arts and culture on campus by chatting with folks from the following student groups, programs, and departments at the U of M. Get involved this year, and find your community!

• WAM Collective
• Radio K
• Whole Music Club
• University of Minnesota Libraries 
• Northrop
• The Bell Museum
• Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing
• Creative Writing Club
• The Wake
• Studio U
• Bohemian Press
• The Dance Collective
• The Toaster Innovation Hub
• Comedy Club