Student Artist Spotlight: The Garage Lights

The five-piece rock band started just last November, and their show this Saturday may be their last. Before the members embark on studies abroad, internships, and graduations, they plan to release a 10-track album next spring. 

By: Harry Sutton

The Garage Lights only played their first show last November at Funk ‘n Waffles, but they had been an inevitability for over a year. Television, Radio, and Film Junior Ben Webster always wanted to start a band in college, so it might have been fate that he met Celso Pérez in his first week of freshman year.

The two quickly became best friends, bonding over a mutual love for playing guitar and The Strokes’ entire body of work. To this day, Webster and Pérez look to emulate the interlocking blends of rhythm and lead guitar made famous by Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr.

As newcomers to Syracuse, the duo searched arduously for a singer, a drummer, and a bassist to fill out the band, but patience ended up being their friend. When acting major Avaana Harvey moved into Webster’s dorm and heard the guitarists auditioning a vocalist, being a natural performer, she had to ask for a tryout. She nailed the audition and immediately became a fixture in The Garage Lights. 

Early into their second year, Pérez ran into Architecture major Oji Anderson at a poker night, and somehow the band ended up with a drummer. Anderson “didn’t think it would actually happen. You know, when you’re at a function and you’re like ‘Oh yeah, I’ll do that.’” Webster met Setnor School of Music Junior Bryce Meuschke through his TRF class’s TA, and just like that, they finally had their band.

Since their first show, The Garage Lights have played at various concert venues in Syracuse, Liverpool, and Buffalo and recently broke into the house venue scene around the university. Their setlists consist of original songs, written collaboratively between Harvey, Pérez, and Webster, and crowd-pleasing contemporary rock covers like Radiohead’s “No Surprises” and Metric’s “Black Sheep.” Their sound allows Harvey’s theatrical charisma to shine as the lead singer, while Pérez and Webster often trade stunning guitar solos, and Anderson and Meuschke fill out the production with exquisitely executed backing. 

However, the energy captured in their shows may be but a fleeting moment as the band prepares for a future without The Garage Lights together. This Saturday, their show at the Redgate may be their last because next semester their members will enter a merry-go-round of studies abroad, internships, and graduations. Harvey, Anderson, and Pérez will all be abroad at some point next year, with Meuschke and Webster graduating in 2024. 

Still, The Garage Lights plan to go out with a bang. The studio version of their single “Jamie” is scheduled to release next Fall, and the band has a 10-track album that will come out as their swansong next Spring. The Garage Lights made a name for themselves pretty quickly in the Syracuse music scene, and anyone who hasn’t seen them live should try their best to catch a glimpse before the lights go out. 

If you want to hear more about The Garage Lights, stay tuned to 20 Watts for a performance review of their hour-long show at Sharkey’s Bar last April which comes out tomorrow. Also, make sure to see The Garage Lights’ final show of the year at Redgate on May 6th!