To truly get to know Santa Cruz, you have to stick around after dark.
It’s only after sunset that the music scene floods the downtown streets. Students begin to line up outside the doors of The Catalyst, and daytime street musicians switch out their acoustic sets for something more electric.
From left to right: bassist Bryan Daza, drummer Alex Alvarez-Milch, lead guitarist Drake Jativa.
Genres mixed and meddled through all the bands at the show, the band Terra brought a hardcore and fast-paced sound that got the crowd moshing up until the presence of a CSO caused the crowd to transition to “dancing hard” rather than moshing.
With a history of featuring performances from music legends and venues that support new artists from every genre, Santa Cruz musicians describe the scene as one of a kind.
“Santa Cruz and the people who go to [UC] Santa Cruz are all music lovers at heart,” said Hannah Goodwin, the lead singer of Sluttony, an all-femme band formed at UC Santa Cruz. “I think we’re very blessed to be in a town that just really appreciates music.”
The city’s most well-known venue, The Catalyst, made its debut as a coffee house in the 1960s. The venue has hosted a range of music icons, from Nirvana to Tyler, the Creator during its 60-year history.
Though the Catalyst has risen in popularity, lesser-known venues hold an unparalleled allure. Coffee shops like Dregs (also known as Munch) and 11th Hour swap their daytime charm to embrace nightlife, often hosting live performances from local and student artists.
Waffle House. Photo by Kaya Levin.
“[Music] is definitely a part of the nightlife,” said Nina Maravic, the guitarist for Sluttony. “Because Santa Cruz is so small, a lot of people gravitate towards shows. There’s so many other artists too, like photographers and all kinds of creative people who are a part of the scene. Everyone has some connection to something going on in the arts community there that just makes it really fun to be a part of.”
Other community spaces, including SubRosa, provide a space for up-and-coming student bands to larger artists like Kimya Dawson. Formed in 2008, the non-profit venue SubRosa is a radical collective space that prioritizes respect and has become a go-to place for student artists.
Performance at the SubRosa collective.
Emma Nelson, a member of the SubRosa collective, described the venue as a place that has “zero tolerance for hate.” They also expressed pride in the venue’s accessibility to a library filled with anarchist zines.
“One of the biggest payoffs for me is seeing people come in just for music, and then they leave more radicalized,” Nelson said.
The community-driven scene affords musicians the ability to explore creative expression. Many local bands experiment with their sound, often not defining themselves by a singular genre.
“I don’t know exactly what genre we’re in, but I like where we’re going with it and I’m just excited to write this kind of music,” said Miles Mancinelli, a member of the Santa Cruz band Universe.
Bands like Universe focus on having fun with their music instead of confining themselves. They write what they feel, conveying messages and complex emotions that they want to share with the world.
Left: Star Power’s harmonica player Creighton Pierson. Right: Lead guitarist and singer Nico Cordova.
Star Power, a band sporting colorful cloaks, took the victory at the Battle of the Bands. Their unique look and captivating sound paired with an energetic mascot named Dilly Dally gave them a recipe for success.
Experimenting with sound goes beyond genre. Oftentimes, band members will have different music styles that blend in every song they write, creating a mixture of sounds and rhythms the people of Santa Cruz welcome.
Though community spaces in Santa Cruz offer a safe space for musicians to explore their sound, this inclusive approach is not typical across the industry.
The music business is historically known for being male-dominated, leaving femme-presenting artists to struggle against the patriarchal attitudes that have governed music in the past.
“When I started producing, I had to prove myself a lot more and [made] sure my work [was] […] perfect so that people could be impressed with what I do and not take into account that I’m a woman and see my work as inferior,” said Sahana Rajmohan, the bassist of Uncommon Denominator, a local band recently formed in Santa Cruz.
Sahana Rajmohan of Uncommon Denominator.
Bands that represent themselves as all-femme seem to be hit most by stereotypes. Even with a large fanbase, Sluttony continues to be hit with misogyny at their performances. When reflecting on their gigs, the members brought up numerous backhanded compliments, such as being told they were “actually good” by male onlookers.
The support found throughout the music scene cements the strength found in the Santa Cruz community.
“Because we are all femme-presenting, we’ve had plenty of experiences that are unique to being femme-presenting,” said Caroline Margolis, the bass player of Sluttony. “It’s just really nice to be doing it all together because when [negative experiences] happen, we have each other to lean on.”
