Students at Purdue University Fort Wayne are ready to teach you a lesson in indie rock music.

Organized by PFW’s Gold Top Music Group, local bands Los Galaxy, Los Lemons, and Man of the Flood will perform during Indie Music Night at Baker Street Centre on Saturday, May 7.

Tasked with everything from booking bands to marketing and tech, the organization, which is part of the university’s School of Music, last helped organize Pink Droyd’s visit to Embassy Theatre in February 2020.

This year, instead of a national act, the group is taking on three up-and-coming bands, which has its benefits.

“This is way more hands on, which is fun,” instructor Jason Lundgren said. “Anytime you have a bigger band, it’s kind of a bigger deal, and not that this isn’t a big deal. I think they really love doing this, being able to create more.”

Booking Acts

When it came to deciding who to book for the show, students didn’t have to look too far, since Man of the Flood was right on campus and on Gold Top Music Group’s label.

“We had the idea to do indie music, because it’s pretty popular around town right now, and we were able to book our student band,” student Nichole Miller said of the group that just released a new single, “Shotgun,” on streaming services April 8.

Man of the Flood might have been a no-brainer, but more work had to be done to find other acts.

“They did all the legwork,” Lundgren said of the students finding talent. “They had a long list of bands, then had to narrow it down, seeing who was available.”

With touring beginning to pick up, students were able to trim their list, selecting Los Galaxy and Los Lemons.

“We tried to find bands that would make for a good show, while also seeing who was touring and who wasn’t,” Miller said.

When Los Lemons vocalist/guitarist Victor Gomez was approached, he didn’t need much convincing.

“I have a lot of friends in the PFW class,” Gomez said. “It came down to us and a few other bands, and they dug our sound.”

Finding Venue

Booking talent can be one obstacle, but having somewhere for them to play is pretty important, too.

“We had some choices for venues, but had to look at what we could actually fill and what lined up with our dates,” Lundgren said. “Baker Street has been great to work with.”

The next step was getting the word out.

“We’ve done a lot on social media, with Instagram and TikTok,” student Amara Wiley said. “We’ve also gotten a lot of flyers and made posters to put up around town.”

“They’ve also had ticket giveaways and merch, just trying to get the word out as much as we can,” Lundgren added.

Exposure

Those who do attend will get a chance to hear some the talent that can be heard across the city.

“Fort Wayne is full of talent, and I feel like it’s a place that’s yet to be discovered,” Gomez said. “There is so much talent, and I feel like Sweetwater has a lot to do with that, because everyone has such access to get equipment. Everyone is doing something really cool.”

And Lundgren hopes Indie Music Night can continue to shine a light on the local music scene, maybe even getting a bigger spotlight in the future.

“I would like for this to get as big as possible,” he said. “Maybe we’ll mix it up between big shows and smaller ones from year to year. Smaller is more hands-on, but the dream is to get some more national acts.”

Tickets are $10 at etix.com, and can also be purchased at the door the night of the show.