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One weekend, attendees of Sage Haus, a student-run music venue at Syracuse University, entered their basement dressed in green to listen to EDM at its Haus Warming. A few weekends later, they listened to jam bands in Sage Haus’ backyard for its Farmers Market event.

“Each event has its own identity … its own vibe, its own decor, its own theming, its own menu for concessions,” Co-Owner and Director of Marketing for Sage Haus, Anjali Engstrom, said. “And each one has its own distinct name.”

Juniors Engstrom and Romy VanAlmen, the director of production and booking, created Sage Haus for their Bandier Program capstone. The events fall into three categories — acoustic, basement and outdoor shows. So far this semester they’ve hosted two shows and will host four more. Their venue’s tagline is “where each night reinvents itself.”

VanAlmen is a DJ who enjoys EDM and Engstrom is part of the Luna and The Carpets indie duo. Their goal is to provide a different experience than other house venues on campus. They still appreciate what other venues do, but most focus on one kind of show; Cage Collective hosts DJ sets and Dazed offers live band performances.

As freshmen, the pair found they didn’t have many intimate and strong connections to venues. After going to similar shows every weekend, they got tired of it and wanted to find something new. That’s where Sage Haus came in.

Courtesy of Sage Haus

At Sage Haus’ first event, the Haus Warming, Romy VanAlmen, one co-owner, DJs surrounded by things in green – the lights, her shirt, plants and a tablecloth. Sage Haus will host one other basement show this semester.

Even after attending all these shows, they didn’t always know who ran it until they started performing themselves. The pair said there is value to a venue like that but there is also value to having a strong connection with the audience.

“We want people to feel like they have been welcomed into our home, and we want people to know that it’s (VanAlmen) and I who run it,” Engstrom said. “We don’t want to be a faceless brand.”

The Farmers Market event on Sept. 21 hosted jam bands XO and Hydrogen, and vendors Awkward Fish and Crossroads Collective. The event was complete with chalk drawings in their driveway and posters of farmers markets around the world. As people in the neighborhood heard songs like Vista Kicks’ “Mona Lisa” performed by XO, they joined the crowd.

“Since it’s during the day, I think people were more caring about the music and not just partying, and I thought it was just like an awesome energy to vend with,” Holly Anderson, founder of Awkward Fish, said.

Another inspiration was one of their graduated friend’s house venues. The Recital hosted acoustic shows every two to three weeks. Engstrom said these acoustic shows were very exclusive, intimate and special because they had a smaller cap — something Sage Haus will recreate.

Liam Kennedy | Staff Photographer

Hydrogen performed Sunday at Sage Haus. The event marked Sage Haus’ second-ever event.

“(The Recital) was like, ‘It’s your guys’ job to keep (acoustic shows) going after we graduate,’ and that sort of sparked the idea in our heads,” VanAlmen said.

A big part of the two’s endeavors has been solidifying their branding. The two hand wrote messages signed, “love Romy and Anjali,” on the Farmers Market wristbands and delivered letters to those on the Haus Warming’s guest list. They also outsourced a designer — Goldie Singer.

Singer is a sophomore studying animation and has helped them develop their vibe, choosing a signature Sage Haus color, Pantone smoke green. With all the different shows, Singer explores ways to incorporate the Haus green and implement the feelings of each kind of show.

“I’m able to explore different types of mediums. I’m able to explore different types of styles of art that I’ve never come across before or produced on my own,” Singer said. “So it’s really opening a lot of doors for me artistically.”

VanAlmen and Engstrom are taking the capstone course one year earlier than most other Bandier students because they are studying off campus the next two semesters. They made the choice because they won’t know the music scene as well when they return.

To get into the class, they pitched their idea to Bill Werde, the Bandier program director, last semester. They said they probably would have created a venue anyways, but being part of the class allowed them to create a better one.

Liam Kennedy | Staff Photographer

Sidewalk art at Sage Haus Sunday. The group focuses on creating elevated house show experiences in Syracuse.

“The beauty of Capstone is it put a fire under our ass, and we actually got it done,” Engstrom said.

The next Sage Haus show, Sage Haus Unplugged, is on Saturday. It will be the first acoustic set of the semester. The performers are all female vocalists who will perform in the Haus living room. Engstrom said Sage Haus’ next acoustic set will be completely different from its first.

“We’ve been in school for months and they had two very, very different shows that evolved like such cool vibes and energy,” Singer said. “It makes me excited to go to the next one because I wonder what the next one is going to be.”

Published on October 1, 2024 at 10:57 pm

Contact Rosina: rlboehm@syr.edu