Bandcamp has returned to Santa Clara University with a vengeance. This year, with the influx of new student bands and musicians, Stereo Underground has decided to put together three installments of the event for each quarter, a departure from their usual two per academic year. As a music fan, this exciting upward trajectory of the University’s music scene is something to be marveled at. As a musician in one of the bands invited to play the event, I couldn’t be more determined to play my part in making the event unforgettable for all.

**Photo provided by Kristy Chereath.** All smiles for Solace after another successful stint at Bandcamp.

One of my main goals coming into college was to play with a band. Playing music with my friends was a defining part of my high school experience, and I figured I’d find California to be a new haven of edgy musicians. I started taking music classes and jamming with a lot of cool people, but I never really found my place in the whole scene. It was then that I befriended a drummer, Adi Ranganathan, and a pianist, Pranav Bhargava, from our shared interest in writing improvisational music. They invited me to join their new group, “Solace,” and I knew something special was to come.

Upon joining the band, I noticed I was surrounded by even more great talent in our bassist, Saunder Salazar, and we even had a secret weapon in our saxophonist and pedal board enthusiast, Aidan O’Hare. We quickly found our sound through writing originals together and revising covers to have a more groovy, danceable feel. We wormed our way into our first gig—Spring 2024 Bandcamp—the holy grail of Santa Clara University student music events. I had seen so many of my favorite on-campus bands perform here, from Pluie to 3pm Oates, so we had some big shoes to fill. We put together some tunes and played a solid set of originals before a very receptive and enthusiastic crowd. We all felt an immense rush and knew we had to keep the momentum going.

And the momentum did in fact continue going—only I went abroad, so I missed a second successful Bandcamp performance much to my dismay. I returned to a second bassist, Dewey Patterson, a second guitarist, Nate Kwak, and a gig at DaSilva’s Bronco with the cool new kids on the block, One Million Beers. Despite the obvious disorganization of corralling a seven to eight man band, we locked in a refined, complex sound like never before. That night, the call came from the big dogs to get ready—Bandcamp was the next weekend.

Winter 2025 Bandcamp started out with a bang. Tabby’s Dream, another relatively new act, came to stage and immediately took a hypnotic control over the crowd with a mix of pop and indie songs perfectly encapsulating the vibe of the evening. The crowd was ecstatic and ready to welcome the next act, Lady Ellis, up to the front. Lead singers Langston Wade and Michelle Chinn momentarily slowed things down with some lush harmonies before turning up the heat with some belting of the lyrics “F**k the rain, I love the rain!” Despite my initial confusion at these paradoxical lyrics, I managed to see the relatability of both feelings and so did the crowd who were screaming the lyrics back. The crowd was warm, just in time for the explosion of energy that is a Pluie set. I’ve seen them many times, and yet I’m always astonished at how intricately the guitar work between members Oliver Lee and Gonzalo Chun align with the bombasticness of drummer Byron Hansen and bassist Danny Grant.

Having danced along to all the fantastic preceding acts, I was quite hyped up and a bit anxious to take the stage. Adi and I had really just begun to sing lead and scheduling errors barred us from practicing enough for my liking, but I simply pushed these feelings of nervousness aside. If there is one thing to be said of Stereo Underground events, it’s that there is no sense of judgement and an extremely open-minded and supportive crowd. And channeling this good energy, we played perhaps our best show yet. Creating music has always been super meaningful to each of us and, with every new show, we hope to give something memorable to our audience too.