Fever Dream brings heartfelt originals to SU campus, downtown music scene
Since coming together in 2024, Fever Dream had the chance to open for high-profile bands like Phoneboy and released its debut song “Back to Boston.” The band hopes to release more music while entertaining the music scene at Syracuse University. Taite Paradise | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
From the moment Emerson Carracedo committed to Syracuse University, she imagined playing at what she called the iconic Funk ‘n Waffles venue. Her dad even said if she ever booked a show there, he would drive five and a half hours from southern New Hampshire to watch his daughter play.
Two and a half years later, Carracedo and her band, Fever Dream, accomplished just that.
“My dad stayed true to his promise. My parents drove all the way out to come see it,” Carracedo said.
Fever Dream is an alternative indie rock band of four SU juniors: Carracedo, Aidan Norton and twin brothers Zach and Nate Kile. Since the spring of their freshman year, the band has been playing stage shows and local events like SUNY ESF Quadstock and other music festivals. The band also released one single last summer, “Back to Boston.”
As an incoming freshman, Carracedo posted herself on a class Instagram page in hopes of meeting new people. Zach and Nate were on the search for a vocalist for their new band; after seeing a photo of Carracedo performing, the brothers messaged her to see if she was interested in joining.
“It’s always a positive to find someone who has clearly performed before, but in terms of knowing if she would be a good fit, we didn’t,” Nate said. “We ended up being really lucky that it worked out so well.”
The Kile brothers joined First Year Players, a first year student-run theatre organization, in fall 2023. They met then-freshman Aidan Norton, who played the drums in the pit for “The Addams Family” show. After hearing him play, Nate said the pair thought he could be a good fit for their new band.
In April 2024, the four then-freshmen began officially rehearsing, and the band was born.
Zach and Nate grew up playing instruments in northeastern Pennsylvania; at 3 years old, they began playing the cello, and in second grade, the brothers first picked up the guitar, Zach said.
Both Carracedo and the Kile brothers were also in bands back in their hometowns, so they were eager to get back into performing while at school, Carracedo said.
Nate said the type of shows they play in Syracuse are different, though. At home, Zach and Nate played for older crowds in bars and restaurants. Now, the band members play stage shows for people their own age. The change of pace sparked a great new experience for the members, allowing them to connect with other musicians and bond with audiences, Carracedo said.
“The camaraderie and the people who come to support our music have brought such incredible energy,” Carracedo said.
In October 2024, then-senior Eric Timlin introduced the band to Phoneboy, an alternative and indie rock band from New Jersey, with 41,000 followers. After listening to the band, Fever Dream wanted to achieve a similar vibe with its music, Zach said.
Only two weeks after hearing Phoneboy’s music for the first time, Fever Dream had the chance to open for the band. After Fever Dream’s initial show fell through, a promoter looked to find other bands they could open for and suggested they reach out to Phoneboy. Opening for the band at The Song & Dance was all four Fever Dream band member’s biggest show to date.
The experience allowed Fever Dream to learn about Phoneboy’s start; Phoneboy also formed when the band members were all in college.
“Our friend told us we had to cover one of their songs and two weeks later instead of us playing a Phoneboy song, we were opening for them,” Carracedo said.
Last summer, Fever Dream released their debut single “Back to Boston,” which was originally written by Carracedo on a bus ride home for break, she said.
Timlin produced and recorded the song for them as his senior capstone project last spring. Each member added drums, guitar and bass parts onto what Carracedo had formerly written as an acoustic song.
“We got together and wrote the parts together as we went. It was really fun to bring everything in and turn it into more of a rock song,” Nate said.
In summer 2025, Fever Dream hosted its first tour with shows in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It was great exposure for the band to play for people who hadn’t seen them live before, Carracedo said.
Carracedo said she has always had a connection to New England. Through constant visits to Boston for live concerts, Carracedo was inspired to start singing in theater and vocal lessons; she always knew that she would love to perform, she said. She was excited to play there herself.
“Playing ‘Back to Boston’ in the Boston area was so much fun, everyone seemed really excited about it up here,” Carracedo said.
With their debut song released in the books, Fever Dream plans to continue writing and releasing new music in its semesters to entertain the younger SU crowd, Carracedo said. On Feb. 28, Fever Dream is booked at Funk ‘n Waffles to open for another student band, Soberdose.
“Back home we were playing in bars and restaurants and playing for people who were normally my parents’ age,” Nate said. “There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s still a lot of fun. But being able to play for people your own age and to get that new experience getting younger people into it and jumping around.”
