Hello magical friends, and welcome to episode 118 of WZRD Radio! I’m your hostwitch Bess and we are getting into the proper warmth of the year over here. Time for regular visits to Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor and dips in the Black Lake! Or your local equivalent.
While you look up “closest giant squid habitat,” here’s our first bit of music, with Siriusly Hazza P and “Why’d I Do It?” leading the charge.
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That was Siriusly Hazza P with “Why’d I Do It?” [lyrics], “Safe Space” by Polyjuice Commotion [lyrics], “Share My Toilet” from The Lovegoods [lyrics], and Split Seven Ways with “Sectumsempra [lyrics].
This month we’ve got a very special report from that wandering wix, our Special Correspondent in the Field DQ.
Hello, magical friends! This is special correspondent in the field DQ with an important Wizard Rock update.
Submissions are now being accepted for the 2025 Wizard Rock Sampler. To paraphrase Albus Dumbledor, some of you will not know what this involves, and I ask that those that do will forgive me for giving a brief explanation and allow their attention to wander freely.
Since 2016, the Wizard Rock community has come together annually to publish a collection letting people know what’s new in Wizard Rock. In years past, this project has been in the loving and capable hands of TK, of the band Totally Knuts. However, beginning this year, I am happy to share that stewardship of this incredible project has been handed over to yours truly, with some generous support and assistance from your Hostwitch Bess.
For any one who may be unfamiliar with the rules or might need a refresher, these are the requirements: You must make sure that what you submit is your own work. Parodies, pastices, instrumentals, whatever else you have is completely fine. We do ask that you refrain from the use of generative artificial intelligence. If there’s anything you’d like to be a part of your song, but you’re not sure how to do it. by all means reach out to your Wizard rock community in the Discord server or the Facebook group. We would be happy to help you.
If it’s never been released anywhere before, we would be happy for the 2025 Wizard Rock Sampler to be the source of your songs debut. However, previously released tracks are welcome as long as they were recorded or released after July 31, 2024.
Songs must be submitted as high-quality audio recordings. Though wave files are preferred, you can reach out to me, Dream Quaffle, if you need assistance on figuring out how to do this. We also do ask for a limit of one song per band or artist. However, wizard rockers have been known to get together and create whole new groups all the time. So, if your voice or your instrument or whatever you have appears on more than one track on the sampler, there are ways to make that happen.
And finally, the songs are going to be mastered prior to release. So we do ask that you have submissions in by June 30, 2025, so we can allow time for this part of the process. Once we have all the songs mastered and completed, the compilation will be released on September 1, 2025. Once you have everything in order and you’re ready to submit for the sampler, you can find the Google form in the Wizard Rock Discord server or the Wizard Rock Revival Facebook group. If you have any other questions or you need me to send you the form personally, my dms are always open. Just look for Dream Quaffle on Facebook, instagram, and Discord.
Now, let’s come together in a spirit of musical unity and make the 2025 Wizard Rock Sampler one for the books! This is Special Correspondent in the Field DQ signing off for now!
Thank you for that, DQ! I can’t wait to see what everyone creates. And I want to add my voice: doing something simple as an experiment is AWESOME. Talking to your favorite wrocker to make it more complicated? Also brilliant! It’s a great time to try something new.
If you want some musical inspiration to jump-start the process, how about “Troll in the Dungeons” from Stephanie and the Quaffles? Because it’s time for our second music break.
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That section of music started with “Troll in the Dungeons” by Stephanie & the Quaffles [lyrics], followed by Ginny and the Weasleys with “Too Young” [lyrics], and closed out with “In Which Draco Malfoy Cries Like a Baby” by Harry and the Potters.
It’s May, and that means a whole new set of places you can make new fandom friends! Here are just a few of the upcoming events.
First, a new month means new Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Jam! May’s prompt is “sunshine,” which is remarkably timely for the northern hemisphere. Don’t forget to hashtag it #BBEFJ wherever you post your response!
Excitingly, Dogtopia in St. Louis, MO is doing a “Harry Potter Themed Month” at their doggie daycare. I don’t know what that means, but I hope one of you takes your furry friend and finds out! [link]
May 8th will see a Harry Potter-themed pop up taking place in Des Plaines, IL, with all kinds of raffles, games, and snacks. [link]
A magical game of Harry Potter Bingo will be taking place on May 10th in Mountain Top, PA. [link]
May 23rd is “Harry Potter Night”with the Lancaster Stormer baseball team in Lancaster, PA and there will be a costume contest. [link]
If you’re around Brownsville, TX on May 31, there’s going to be a Harry Potter Bazaar with over a hundred vendors! [link]
Also on May 31st something called “Fucked Up Feud” is happening in Lansdale, PA, featuring prizes and a drag show! Sounds like fun. [link]
Don’t forget to also be noodling on your submission to the Just Joy! Compilation! We’re getting fun and silly with it this summer. [link]
As for what I missed last month!
Our wrockers have been busy. The Galleon Guy put out the “Cast, Cast, Cast A Spell: Part 2 compilation. [link]
The Bookish Hufflepuff gave us a live album of a wide range of her performances called “The Bookish Hufflepuff: Live at Eli Tea Bar.” [link]
And because one album wasn’t enough, the Galleon Guy also released “Honky Tonk Hogwarts.” [link]
Awesome work, everyone!
Links to all these events, and more, can be found on the Potterhead Calendar of the WZRD Radio website.
Let’s get to that last bit of music. The Moaning Myrtles kick us off with “Bathroom Acoustics.”
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That was the fabulous Moaning Myrtles and “Bathroom Acoustics” [lyrics], Percy and the Prefects with “Ron” [lyrics], and “Song for Unconventional Public Transportation” from Ludo Bagman and the Trash [lyrics].
And that’s the end of our episode! This theme is a particularly silly one, so I hope you enjoyed it.
If you heard your new favorite song, go to the transcript at WZRDRadioPod.com, follow the link, and buy yourself a copy. You’ll get a great new addition to your music collection and a wizard rocker will know they’ve got a fan. And you know what I always say: without our wizard rockers, we wouldn’t be here.
You can support WZRD and the Community Wrock Fund by joining the Patreon at Patreon.com/WZRDRadioPod. There are two, five, and ten dollar tiers that all get the same perks, including early episodes and bonus content, and support the Fund in helping our wizard rockers get their music out there.
You can still guess this episode’s theme on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok at WZRDRadioPod. You can also get in touch by commenting on the transcript or emailing me at WZRDRadioPod@gmail.com.
Until next time, magical friends: You’ve never been more interesting and frankly, you’ve never been more fanciable.
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