A Guide to Syracuse University’s House Venues - Fall 2023

Get to know more about Redgate, Mudpit, the Dollhouse, and the Recital, the four DIY music venues in the University Neighborhood that have allowed aspiring musicians to thrive.

Graphic by Shaina Lieberman

From the Harrington to Jabberwocky, Syracuse University has seen legendary student-run DIY music venues come and go for decades. These venues, many of which are cramped basements in rental homes, serve as the heartbeat for a music scene in an area that has produced countless innovative and dedicated artists. To this day, students and local creatives alike share their art and combine in the spirit of sound every weekend at venues in the Syracuse University area.

As wonderful as these venues are for the music scene on campus, house venues rarely keep operations going for more than two school years. In 2023, the house show scene was kept alive by four primary venues: Redgate, Mudpit, the Dollhouse, and the Recital. 20 Watts Magazine spoke with the organizers of each venue to get to know them better.

Redgate / Words by John Turnham

Now in its second year of operation on the Syracuse campus, Redgate – a rental house signified by a hot-red Japanese Torii gate in its front yard – has become one of the most iconic music spots in the scene. The venue was created by six SU students: Jared Rowland, Dylan Fox, Henry Brennan, Jesse Herman, Josh Price, and Ben Brier – all now seniors.

“We really credit the Harrington as the main catalyst that sparked our interest in doing this type of work,” said Fox regarding the inspiration behind Redgate’s foundation.

Since its first show in September 2022, Redgate has been the definitive Friday night destination for Syracuse’s music lovers. The venue has served as a beacon to the school’s DIY scene, hosting thrilling shows for SU’s student artists and musicians from the greater New York area. The venue’s organizers have taken the Redgate brand and ran with it, hosting an all-day music festival last year called “Walnutpalooza,” and collaborating with downtown venue The Lost Horizon for a handful of shows this semester.

One of the questions looming over Redgate’s organizers is what will happen to the venue when they graduate this spring.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” responded Fox.

“Syracuse burns to the ground,” predicted Rowland.

Thankfully, the organizers noted that the incumbent tenants plan to continue using the house as a music venue next year, making the school’s chances of suffering Rowland’s predicted infernal hellscape considerably lower.

More than anything, the guys are excited about the future of Syracuse music and the evolution of the house show scene overall. “We had our time here, but now I wanna see how it develops into the future,” concluded Rowland.

Mudpit / Words by Polly Gilmore

“Mudpit is for the people, man,” says Guiv Lederer, one-third of the Mudpit team. The venue, which started hosting student artists in Fall 2022, is now a staple of the Syracuse house show scene. Lederer, along with Emma Barbosa and Camille Rowlands-Rees, took over management of the house at the beginning of this academic year. They’ve since thrown seven concerts, each highlighting SU student artists and embodying their motto, “Let’s get messy.”

The house, unassuming from the outside, regularly packs in droves of well-dressed concertgoers, ready to dance the night away in the cult-classic basement.

“We try to change things up, we want to be bright, colorful, not predictable,” said Barbosa, who manages the venue’s social media and plans show lineups. Over the past semester, the Mudpit has experimented with introducing themes to their shows, like their pink-out (featuring Nancy Dunkle and Bella Fiske) or their “Bloodpit” Halloween show. The themes, often featuring a dress code, add a sense of consequence to the basement concerts. “Instead of just something they can go to, it's like an event,” added Barbosa.

The Mudpit’s lineups are consistently saturated with student artists, rather than outsourcing musicians from elsewhere, “It’s great that we’re able to bring in outside artists, but like, our priority is always going to be the student artists.”

“I think that this is like a really great learning process for us to figure out what the best way to do it is,” Rowlands-Rees said reflecting on their first semester running the Mudpit. “Now that we have a really good handle on everything, we're going to be really efficient and we’re really excited.”

The Mudpit is a must-visit for cool crowds, incredible student artists, and anyone who just wants to get messy.

The Recital / Words by Grace Stecher

The Recital is one of Syracuse’s newest venues, founded by student musicians Maria Nido and Corey Chun in 2022. The Bandier students were inspired to create the Recital after immersing themselves in the school’s live performance scene with their band Froggies.

“We were playing every house venue and realized there was no active space for the acoustic style of music we like to make and perform. Additionally, and more importantly, we were some of the only women performing,” Chun told 20 Watts.

Their first official show took place on September 23rd, 2022 after they got their rental house. The Recital brings an intimate setting to the community's vast assortment of venues, allowing artists’ lyricism and guitar skills to shine at the forefront. Students often sit on the floor as they watch the artists perform in front of Nido and Chun’s quaintly decorated living room fireplace. Homemade hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and treats are also served, adding to the Recital’s cozy atmosphere.

As for the future of the Recital, seniors Nido and Chun have big plans.

“Since we’ve never had a traditional venue style and permanent residency for [the Recital], we hope to take it to other cities or colleges within the next year. Although Syracuse will always be our first love, we really hope to introduce this experience to other places because we know it will be special just about anywhere,” added Chun.

Nido and Chun hope that the Recital can be a gathering space for SU students who enjoy all different types of music for as long as it remains part of the campus’s scene.

“We’ve attracted many like-minded people who love folk and acoustic-style music, and that was our goal. But, I really love it when people come for the first time and see some of their favorite SU artists in a different light – a space where you can hear every lyric and intention the artist has with their music.”

The Dollhouse / Words by Tessa Maddaloni

Along with the short-lived Power 10, the Dollhouse is one of the new DIY venues established on the Syracuse campus this semester. The punk and hardcore venue hosted its first show on September 9th, 2023, inspired by the vibrant music scene at Syracuse, but also hoping to break the mold.

In just one semester, the venue’s organizers have brought bands from all across the East Coast to play in their basement. While the organizers opted to do their work behind the scenes, asking to remain anonymous, their love for what they do was more than evident.

“Most of the bands we book are bands we like,” said one founder. “I try to find a lot of emo bands, and post-hardcore and punk bands.”

Creating a house venue started as a joke: two of the four roommates threw the idea out on a whim, but they then realized that it could become a reality. After a Pinterest board was created and bookable bands were brainstormed, the Dollhouse quickly came to life. All four roommates (along with a team of friends) have varying roles of involvement with the venue, between planning, booking, promoting, and security.

“We want to do things that will make the Dollhouse feel more like a community. I want people to come to our house and make friends,” stated one founder. They mentioned potential future expansion plans like a show with a flea market and a benefit concert for Girls Rock! Rochester, a local nonprofit focused on gender and sexuality inclusivity in the music world.

A goal of the Dollhouse that sets it apart is a focus on making women feel supported and comfortable. They discussed a feature they include when shows get too rowdy, asking the performers to do a “girls only moment,” where all of the men in the audience move to the back, a tradition that has quickly become colloquialized as the “girl pit.”

After a successful establishing semester, the Dollhouse owners are thankful for the musicians and fans who helped them grow.

“It's the bands and the people who come through every week that make the Dollhouse a Doll-home.”