Walnutpalooza charity event combines house show scene with festival-style lineup
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
Despite weather-related setbacks, Redgate and Phi Kappa Theta’s outdoor music festival Walnutpalooza drew an impressive crowd of Syracuse University music scene regulars and non-regulars alike. Food trucks parked in front and on the side of the house and a vintage clothing market set up across from the stage, with plenty of room for the audience to gather in the middle.
On Saturday, student-run house show venue Redgate partnered with Phi Kappa Theta to host a music festival to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network, an organization that provides funding for over 170 childrens’ hospitals. The lineup of 10 bands included SU student groups and some newcomers, including headliner Laundry Day from New York City.
“A lot of guys in the house love concerts and music festivals, and we wanted to start bringing those kinds of events back to campus in the post-covid era,” said Dylan Leveroni, current president of SU’s chapter of Phi Kappa Theta.
The event drew a crowd of frequent Syracuse house show-goers, but also some new faces. The fraternity hoped that partnering with students outside of SU Greek life would draw a larger and more inclusive crowd, Leveroni said.
“The goal of Walnutpalooza was to really break down that barrier and bring people together for a good cause,” he said.
Midway through the festival, around 6 p.m., thunderstorms put the show on pause until 8:30 p.m., when the event resumed indoors at Redgate.
“We couldn’t have done it without (Redgate),” Leveroni said. “I think it’s safe to say it was pretty successful for the circumstances we were given.”
The festival kicked off with a performance from The Garage Lights, a relatively new but promising addition to the SU music scene, with a few performances from this year under their belt. The set included a cover of “Black Sheep” by Metric and new song “February.”
Phi Kap brothers rushed the stage to support the next act, their fellow member Nathan Fenningdorf, whose stage name is Nate Fenn. The artist sang his most recent release “Criminal for You” and unreleased titles “California in July” and “Blue Afternoon.”
With a similar pop style to Nate Fenn, Sammy Curcuru took the stage and ignited the growing midafternoon crowd with his high energy, and a cover of Taylor Swift’s “We
Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
After a brief weather delay moved Walnutpalooza inside, the performers and audience moved to the basement of Redgate. The final acts, including headliner Laundry Day, were still able to give fans a great performance. Courtesy of Reed Granger
The Gritty Jawns and 89 Frogs were the last artists to perform before the storm. The two SU house show veterans gave performances that kept the audience engaged and present despite the dark clouds overhead.
Frequent Redgate performers The Gritty Jawns brought a new level of energy to yesterday’s crowd with an impressive combination of bass, saxophone and guitar. Guitarist Chris Totoro stole the show on a cover of Cage the Elephant’s “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” and an original song “Memories.”
89 Frogs, a fusion-group of two SU student bands Studio 89 and Froggies, followed The Gritty Jawns with an equally strong performance thanks to a strong guitar section and powerful vocals from Sam Parrish. Parrish especially shined on her cover of ‘90s anthem “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar.
Grunge rock group Rhodes Corduroy kicked off the post-rain delay show in Redgate’s basement with a hardcore performance that reignited the earlier energy of the crowd. Out-of-town artists Dell’Acqua and Daffo followed.
Between Dell’Acqua and Daffo’s sets, rainwater started flooding the ground closest to the stage. About 10 friends and residents of the Redgate house worked to clean up the water with buckets while Daffo performed, Fox said.
“It was quite a laborious task but because we had so many hands on deck, it was kind of fun,” Fox said.
Although originally slated to open for Laundry Day, Syracuse-based group Pop Culture decided not to perform after the weather delay to allow artists who traveled from out of town enough time for their set, Fox said.
Despite starting two hours later than scheduled, a crowd of fans remained for Laundry Day, who did not disappoint. The group, sporting a look similar to Weezer or other indie rock bands of the ‘90s and early 2000s, took the stage in distinguishing school uniform attire. They played mostly originals, including obvious fan favorite “Jane,” but closed out with a cover of Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the U.S.A.”
“I think it’s safe to say it was pretty successful for the circumstances we were given,” Leveroni said. “Everyone that helped put it together truly knows how special it was for us as a house and hopefully for the campus as well.”
Disclaimer: Nathan Fenningdorf was previously an editor at The Daily Orange. Fenningdorf no longer writes for The D.O. and has no bearing on editorial content.
