USC music students take over the Troubadour

Boasting an impressive history of star-studded performances, the Troubadour is often a launchpad for artists looking to make it big.

This Friday, five USC students are planning for take-off from their first self-produced concert at the iconic club.

Named one of the best rock clubs in America by Rolling Stone Magazine, the “Troub” has been praised as the “key to L.A.’s late Sixties rock explosion and the glam-metal scene of the Eighties.”

In the same place where Elton John made his U.S. debut in the ‘70s, the stage has since hosted performances by iconic artists such as Bob Dylan, Guns N’ Roses and Harry Styles. The 303, a concert taking place on March 3, will feature a three-artist lineup of up-and-coming artists Lorelei Marcell, Magnus Ferrell and Indie-rocker band the Runarounds.

The 303 is the brainchild of USC students Ashley Taylor, Laurellei Marple, Madi Ingrassia, John Thornton and Katherine Loose, who are taking a live music production and promotion class at the USC Thornton School of Music.

What started as a group project became something much bigger when the group of five made the ambitious decision to book the Troubadour.

Nestled between buildings on an unsuspecting sidewalk off of Santa Monica Boulevard, the West Hollywood club has been a platform for artists since 1957. Notable performers throughout the years include Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Greta Van Fleet, Billie Eilish, Lizzy McAlpine, FINNEAS, Jacob Collier and John Mayer, to name just a few. Comedian John Mulaney even reopened the club following the pandemic with 15 nights of performances.

With its rich music history, capacity to fit a sizable crowd and “intimate, organic feel,” group member and USC student Thornton said the Troubadour was at first an attractive idea, but one that seemed out of reach.

“When we first started talking about our show as a group, the Troubadour was being thrown around as an idea,” Marple said. “We were like, that would be insane if that happened.”

The concert is being produced entirely out of pocket, so the decision to book the venue is a financial risk for the group of five. But for these students who are bent on breaking into the music industry, it was worth it to “go big or go home,” Thornton said.

Ultimately, the decision came down to how much the group was willing to risk for their artists.

“We really wanted to pick artists that we thought deserved to have this turning point in their career,” Marple said. “So a lot of that fell on, are we risking this for the artists and do they deserve it as much as we think they do to play at a venue like this?”

The artists on the lineup may very well be seeing a turning point on the horizon, with each making major strides in their music careers.

Magnus Ferrell, a USC student who describes himself as a jazz-pop artist, has performed at venues like the Mayan for KCRW, Hotel Ziggy in West Hollywood, and most recently, at the Music Box in San Diego where he opened for the Psychedelic Furs.

“I feel really special about the Troubadour,” Ferrell said. “I think it’s going to be a special night and I don’t know, there’s just a vibe around it that feels very destiny-ish, if that makes sense.”

Lorelei Marcell, who dabbles in alternative pop and R&B grooves has amassed millions of streams and has performed for packed crowds after joining pop-rock band TRANSVIOLET on the road.

The Runarounds formed more recently through an open casting call for a new TV pilot by the creator of the hit Netflix show “Outer Banks.” The band of five made a guest appearance in the latest season that came out last week.

The indie rockers have even captured the attention of rock and roll Hall-of-Famer Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads, who will help produce their live EP in the upcoming spring.

“We didn’t even intentionally have the Runarounds in mind at first,” Taylor said.

Taylor and Marple, who both work at the music school, recalled their interaction with the Runaround’s singer, Will Lipton, who also happens to be a student at USC Thornton School of Music.

“It was funny because he came in one day and was like, ‘Hey, come to our show tonight,’” Taylor said. “We ended up coming and they had a whole production team and it was so cool.”

“When they started, Ashley and I looked at each other and were like, ‘What the hell? Like these guys have something,” Marple said.

It was an opportunity for the two to see the band in action as they recorded a live version of their album.

“Their energy was great, and they were great at engaging with the audience. And so that was when we were like, yeah, they’re going to be our headliner,” Taylor said.

And the producers and the artists are not the only potential beneficiaries of the concert. A portion of the proceeds will be donated directly to the nonprofit LA Animal Services. It’s one of the largest municipal shelter systems in the U.S., according to the department website.

As for the show, the producers said “The 303″ will be a concert not defined by genre, but one that embraces the diversity of sound, where each artist can bring their own unique voice to the stage.

“We didn’t want them to all fall into one genre because the fact that they’re all kind of scattered helps people come in and have a different experience with each artist,” Marple said. “It’s not just pop. It’s not just R&B. It’s a little bit of everything.”

The hope, they said, is that the concert will provide something that everyone in the audience can resonate with.

“With USC being such a diverse school and a diverse community, I think that’s really important to have a very wide range of genres,” Taylor said.

A little more than a month of dreaming, planning and producing will soon come to fruition as the artists inch closer to a legendary stage.

“We did a walk through last week and that’s when it started to feel real,” Taylor said. “It was cool seeing it as an empty venue because soon it’s going to be packed and very vibrant and energetic.”

Tickets for the all-ages show are available at the Troubadour website.