CHLOE KOWALYK
Editor in Chief
CHLOE KOWALYK | Editor in Chief
The Fredonia music scene is taking on a new face.
Elena Fitzgerald, a junior music industry major with minors in music and communication, is paving her way in the local music scene.
Fitzgerald is 20 years old and is from Syracuse, N.Y. She’s of short stature, has wispy black hair that frames her face and is almost always wearing the merch of a local band.
She can often be seen fist-bumping performers and those working behind-the-scenes, as many people in the local scene have come to know her throughout the past few semesters.
Music has been a vital aspect of Fitzgerald’s life for quite some time. She’s been playing violin since she was 10, and was inspired to keep music in her sights for the future after she found a community through her orchestra in high school.
When Fitzgerald first came to Fredonia a few years back, she started as a music education major. While she said she enjoyed her time as a music education major, as she began to go through the program, she found that music education was not quite right for her.
Fitzgerald realized she was better suited for something else after she got hands-on experience working at a before-and-after-school program.
“I enjoyed a majority of the classes that I took, but something wasn’t really clicking with me,” she said.
At the same time that she was exploring the possibility of switching from her music education major, Fitzgerald started to become a more active part of Fredonia Radio Systems (FRS), SUNY Fredonia’s student-run radio station.
Through the campus radio station, she worked as an archives assistant and helped out with other various departments within FRS.
With her new exposure to local music, Fitzgerald began going to more local shows and concerts.
It was not long after these new experiences that Fitzgerald chose to switch her major to music industry.
She explained that music education and music industry can, despite their obvious differences, be pretty similar.
For her, the transition was pretty easy, considering the similarities between the music communities.
“Instead of doing 75% music industry stuff and 25% music ed., now [music industry] is just my 100%,” Fitzgerald said. “So it really just transitioned from one kind of music to another.”
Once Fitzgerald made the switch between majors, she began to get even more active in the local music scene.
She began working more at FRS, and eventually found herself joining The Local Lo-Down, a radio show at FRS that interviews local artists and allows them to play a set right in the studio.
Fitzgerald was approached by former host and promotions lead Mel Fajardo to join The Local Lo-Down in September last year.
“I started off with promotions… then I started to dabble more in the A&R group and getting into more of the questions and researching bands,” she said.
It was through her work in the archives and with The Local Lo-Down that Fitzgerald met Alex Erwin, who recently graduated from SUNY Fredonia in 2023.
Erwin said that he and Fitzgerald did a lot of work together at the station.
“It was a blessing to have her on the team, [she’s] one of the most dedicated and hardworking people I know,” Erwin said. “She wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfect, and I am the same way, so working with her made whatever we were working on hit that high standard of quality [that The Local Lo-Down] became known for.”
Fitzgerald also found herself involved in Sound Services, a student-run club that provides live sound and lights to events around the area.
She first started helping out with Sound Services during the Battle of the New Bands event in December 2022.
That night, the club was in need of a lot of help, and Fitzgerald offered her support.
“I was thrown right into it and I thought it was super cool,” she said. “Honestly, I fell in love with it.”
Not long after her positive experience with Battle of the New Bands, Fitzgerald began working as an equipment manager with Sound Services.
Fitzgerald’s most recent local music feat is the work she’s done to help put on shows at BJ’s, a bar in Fredonia that frequently hosts bands for live shows.
Shows at BJ’s are put on by Last Call Entertainment and, more specifically, booked by senior music industry and journalism double-major Jordan Budd.
Fitzgerald herself works most on promotions and helping out with whatever is needed at shows.
Prior to their work at BJ’s, Budd and Fitzgerald were already friends.
Fitzgerald said that the conversation about BJ’s just happened to come up after Budd began taking over the booking for BJ’s. She added that Budd said he needed help, which Fitzgerald was ecstatic about.
“I’m beyond grateful for him asking me and being able to do all of this,” she said. “It has definitely been one of my best experiences in college so far.”
Fitzgerald’s work for BJ’s often includes receiving promo photos, editing those photos and working on Instagram. She also helps hang posters and get the word out about shows. In addition, she and Budd work together to develop ideas for upcoming shows.
Each time there is a show, Fitzgerald goes into BJ’s several hours before to set up and get the bar prepared. Most of the tables and chairs are moved into the basement.
Fitzgerald also typically sets up the lights on the stage.
Once the show is complete, she does this process in reverse, often staying for a while after the last set to tear down and revert BJ’s back to its typical state. “We leave BJ’s somewhere between 1 a.m. and 2:30 a.m.,” she said.
While show nights are long nights, Fitzgerald said, “It’s a rewarding and happy experience.”
Erwin attested to Fitzgerald’s dedication to the local scene after his positive experiences working with her.
“Hardworking, determined and eager would be the words I’d use to describe her,” Erwin said.
For Fitzgerald, her dedication is a result of her passion for music.
“I do love what I do,” she said. “I love everything about it.”
While she said that many days can be difficult and stressful, she still enjoys the work she does.
“I think the people that I work with definitely contribute to why I love it. I feel like we’re in such a good bubble right now where so many people are dedicated and wanting to work,” Fitzgerald said.
Along with her work at BJ’s, Fitzgerald has kept the experiences that first got her into the scene close to her heart.
She is currently serving as the WDVL station program director, where she facilitates new shows and manages the top hits that play on the station.
Fitzgerald is also still involved with The Local Lo-Down, where she is a part of the A&R crew and is mainly in charge of the mini-interviews the show holds with bands.
Despite all of these commitments, she still works hard in Sound Services, operating as the club’s treasurer and helping out at events.
Fitzgerald’s dedication to the scene has not gone unnoticed.
Erwin said, “Elena’s the type of person to make a statement, to put herself in the front and put the work in, and that’s why she has become a central part of the underbelly of the Fredonia music scene. With her on the reigns, the music won’t stop flowing in Fredonia.”
While Fitzgerald does not yet have set plans for her future or even her senior year, she expects that music will be involved. She’s interested in careers such as venue management or touring with a band.
But for now, she continues to stay active right here in the Fredonia music scene.
“It’s so great to see the music scene still flourishing as the school population is going down,” Fitzgerald said. “So thank you all for the support and keep going to shows. It’s what keeps the scene alive and what keeps a lot of these bands alive.”
Chloe Kowalyk, the author of this article, is a member of Fredonia Radio Systems, The Local Lo-Down and Sound Services.