Jam bands Hydrogen and Pop Culture grooved out for the one-time return of The Harrington on October 28th. 

Words by Lauren Duncan / Photos by Maddi Jane Brown & Hannah Delaray/ Graphic by Griffin Turner

The Harrington was a DIY Syracuse music venue that ran from 2021 until this spring. As the venue’s founders all graduated in the Class of 2023, The Harrington, home to countless memories for many Syracuse music fans, closed for good after their final show this April. Or so we thought.

For one of Syracuse campus’s most noteworthy annual events, Halloweekend, the legendary house venue returned for a one-time revival show. On Saturday, October 28th, the line outside The Harrington was packed with music fans, adorned in a range of spooky and bawdy costumes, dying to get back inside the venue.

The opening set was the debut show of Hydrogen, a four-piece jam band formerly known as Dogs Playing Poker. Featuring a grooved-out setlist, The Grateful Dead-esque jam show displayed exactly what the band was looking to add to the SU’s music scene. Hydrogen want to serve as the missing puzzle piece in SU’s musical mosaic as the resident campus jam band. Playing their debut set as openers for Syracuse jam institution, Pop Culture, the show was a momentous occasion for the hippies.

Following the debutants, headliners Pop Culture once more demonstrated why they draw a crowd wherever they play. The band, made up of bassist Foster Valle, drummer Grady Collingbourne, keyboardist Michael Boccuzzi, vocalist Markus Kazmierczak, guitarist Michael Wolfe, and saxophonist Joe Winslow, gave a lively performance through the night, with Winslow arguably stealing the show. Pop Culture's range of jazz to jam out to guitar-smashing blues was lauded by the fans at The Harrington. The versatile and invigorating performance from the sextet set them apart from many of their contemporaries in the local music scene.