Class project-turned-live music venue aims to revive music scene
Aaron Rubinfeld and Elizabeth Miller held their first show at The Stoplight on Saturday night. The venue distinguished by its music-first approach, an attendee said. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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A full-size traffic light turned green as The Stoplight opened its doors for the first time. Music blared and applause erupted as students in costume packed shoulder to shoulder to experience Syracuse University’s newest music venue.
“Live music is my passion. Everything I’ve done since coming to school has been because of live music, and I want to share that with the world,” said Aaron Rubinfeld, SU senior and co-founder of the venue.
The Stoplight is a new student-run live music venue dedicated to reviving the SU campus music scene. On Nov. 1, the venue hosted its first event – a Halloween show – with performances from student artists like Ada Setlik, Natalie Schlesinger and Fever Dream.
Rubinfeld and co-founder Elizabeth Miller, a graduate student in the audio arts program, started this venture for their MMI 428: Entertainment Innovation and Entrepreneurship class. Their professor, Sean Branagan, encouraged the duo to follow through on the business idea they pitched in class this semester.
Rubinfeld’s longtime dream of starting his own venue and Miller’s experience in audio and love for music created their “baby.” The Stoplight is named after the life-sized traffic light in his living room, Rubinfeld said.
In class, Branagan emphasized having a good business plan, encouraging his students to try to make money if they could, Rubinfeld said. Following his advice, Rubinfeld and Miller charged $5 for presale tickets and $7 at the door on Saturday night.
Though their class ends this semester, Rubinfeld said The Stoplight won’t. The duo knows the SU music scene needs help; they want to fill the gap that emerged this semester with the discontinuation of Dazed’s weekly shows at their old house venue.
“We’re hoping to help reignite the live music scene that was once here and bring it back stronger than ever,” Rubinfeld said.
They don’t have an exact idea of how often they’ll open their doors, but are aiming for one or two events a month starting next semester.
The music-first perspective distinguishes the venue, SU junior Edie Berndt said. She attended Saturday’s show and said you can tell it’s a concert first and a party second.
Blah blah blah caption blah blah blah. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
Part of that was the start time of 8 p.m., early for the traditional SU music scene. It let people focus on the music more because they hadn’t been partying beforehand, Berndt said.
House shows aren’t just entertainment, they have an impact on the students that are part of them, Miller said. Setlik, an SU senior who performed indie-pop covers and originals on Saturday night, said she was grateful for the opportunity to showcase her style.
“The music that I play isn’t really fit for more high energy grunge houses like Dazed used to be,” Setlik said. “It was nice to have the house show feel but in an environment where my music could be perceived and enjoyed.”
There was no stage, so performers were eye-to-eye with the audience in Rubinfeld’s living room. Setlik said she enjoyed the intimate atmosphere.
“We were all just looking at each other,” Setlik said. “It gave me chills to be like, ‘These people are here for my band, to listen to everything we’ve been working on.’”
Not only do house shows give important opportunities to student musicians, Miller said, but also to people mixing audio or setting up the stage behind the scenes.
The team worked with Branagan to get sound equipment. They now have a soundboard, which Miller said most house shows don’t usually have. The tool will elevate their shows, she said.
“With the soundboard we will be able to add effects or distortion, or even just mix the audio so it’s a better blend,” Miller said. “It helps balance the instruments with the voice as well.”
Rubinfeld said he was very happy with Saturday’s turnout. He and Miller are already receiving inquiries about the date of the next show. For now, they’re focused on student bands, but Rubinfeld hopes to eventually book professional bands from elsewhere.
“Live music gives the best natural high,” Rubinfeld said. “Every night you don’t know what you’re getting — it’s so exciting.”
