While Ithaca College’s community of bands is easy to navigate for sophomores, juniors and seniors, many interested first-year students might not know where to start when it comes to joining a band.
Sophomore Jake Smith, a member of All Nine Bite, said that he and his bandmates had been noticing interest around campus in making new bands. When All Nine Bite loads and unloads their drum kit on campus, Smith said it’s not uncommon for a first-year student to ask them about finding a drum kit or members for their own bands.
IC Live Music Fanclub, the on-campus club affiliated with DIY concert organization Unknown Stage, fosters the creation of new bands on campus.
Senior Dominick Petrucci, president of IC Live Music Fanclub and member of five IC bands, said that IC Live Music Fanclub’s goal is to break down the barrier between underclassmen and upperclassmen bands by supporting both new and established musical projects with shows that use IC’s campus as a venue.
“All Nine Bite formed last year when they were freshmen, and they sounded awesome, and we were tripping over ourselves to get them on bills because we [thought] ‘this is a freshman band, they’re getting a freshman crowd, and they’re getting more people to the music scene that way,’” Petrucci said.
Petrucci said that as a first-year and sophomore student, the band scene was very active because of Wallace Petruziello ’24, who played a major role in organizing shows in the Circle Apartments on campus. Petrucci explained that when Petruziello graduated, his absence changed the scene.
“I never wanted to get into music management,” Petrucci said. “I’ve always wanted to be a concert photographer. Two years ago, I [couldn’t] wait to start photographing bands again. And then there were no shows for two months.”
IC Live Music Fanclub became an official club in Spring 2025, built on the legacy of people like Petruziello and other alumni who pioneered a safe space for bands at IC.
On Sept. 18, IC Live Music Fanclub hosted its first-ever Band Mixer, an event that invited students of all disciplines to meet their peers who were interested in starting or joining a band. Senior Sophia Spring, member of IC Open Mic and IC Live Music Fanclub as well as the band Bisexual Lighting, said that the Band Mixer was an opportunity for people who were having trouble breaking into the scene to get involved.
“The more bands, the merrier,” Spring said. “I think that this is a wonderful way to show that [IC Live Music Fanclub] can be a hub for community [and] bring people together.”
Sophomore Cian Connolly, member of IC bands Three Holes and Wigabit, said that he has noticed an increase in bands on campus since his first year. As of Fall 2025, there are 20 active bands featuring IC students in Ithaca. He attributes this to Petrucci’s hard work.
“[Dom] could get in touch with people that were interested in going to find gigs,” Connolly said. “He totally started something up, and it’s been really, really good.”
The Band Mixer featured a presentation from Petrucci, answering some of the frequently asked questions about starting a band at IC, like how to reserve a practice room in Whalen or where to find a drum kit. Sophomore Matt Argus of All Nine Bite said that the establishment of the IC Live Music Fanclub made it a lot easier to get involved in the community.
“I know if they had [The Band Mixer] last year, I would have been there,” Argus said. “[IC Live Music Fanclub] didn’t really exist at the start of our freshman year, it just felt like there was a friend group that we weren’t quite in. But now that everything is more established, and there’s posters, and there’s an Instagram, it’s like ‘this really is for the music scene, everyone is involved in this.’”
Shows in Ithaca are not only about the music, but also about the social interactions between different bands and the audience. Photographers, audience members, and musicians mingle between each set, creating a sense of community that keeps people coming back to each show. For first–year students interested in getting their foot in the scene’s door, sophomore Azrael Hudson, member of The Brood, recommended going to shows.
“Even if you don’t know anybody there, just go to shows,” Hudson said. “Because I promise you, the people who are in bands and the people who are putting together shows will remember your face.”
On Oct. 17, IC Live Music Fanclub and Unknown Stage will host “Disco Volante,” a project that Petrucci created in order to give bands the opportunity to play one-hour sets. The show will be on campus in the Center for Natural Sciences and feature IC bands The Brood, Thickets and Facestabber. IC Live Music Fanclub also promised all bands that formed at The Band Mixer that they would be on a bill when they’re ready to perform, hoping to host a show with entirely brand new bands in the future.
In such a supportive community, Connolly’s advice was to start or join a band, no matter how nerve–racking it can be.
“It’s not as scary as you think,” Connolly said. “No one there wants you to be bad. Everyone is there to support. I met a lot of friends and I was able to root out which friends were really cool because they were ones that came to my first gig.”
In IC Live Music Fanclub’s future, Petrucci hopes to solidify on-campus shows as a part of the culture at IC.
“When I will be happy is when pub shows are treated as seriously as downtown shows,” Petrucci said. “That’s my end goal this year, at least. That’s kind of a hard goal, but I think within a year, I can at least get one pub show that people are genuinely actually very invested in spending their Friday night at.”
Hudson said that through her involvement in IC Live Music Fanclub, she hopes to make the community a place for everyone.
“It’s a really welcoming community,” Hudson said. “You will find people that enjoy your company, that want to facilitate you making art, and that’s really cool because not everybody wants to put effort into that. It’s a novel thing to feel like your art is worthy of somebody else’s time.”
Senior Dominick Petrucci is a contributing writer for The Ithacan.
