Before She is the Music hosted their own shows featuring women artists and began drawing large crowds, the club tabled at live-music events hosted by other music clubs and organizations. The club’s co-ambassadors handed out merch and stickers to spread the message of their club: platforming and developing women artists at USC.

Giving women in the music industry a different kind of stage, She is the Music is the USC chapter of the broader She Is U college ambassador program, which aims to empower women in music on campuses across the country and help them find community while gaining experience in the music industry. 

At USC, She is the Music was formerly run by USC alum Alethea Freidberg, who, following her graduation, began working for She is U full-time. As a participant in the She is U mentorship program, Ariella Youssefyeh, a junior majoring in music industry, connected with Freidberg through the program and spoke on the future of She is the Music at USC.

In February of 2025, Youssefyeh and Josette Chenaur, a sophomore majoring in music industry, became the official co-ambassadors for She is the Music’s USC chapter. Together, they lead the organization with the intention of showcasing and celebrating women’s talent at USC through live music events with diverse show line-ups. 

“USC has such insane female music talent,” Youssefyeh said. “We really want to uplift them and show them that there are more spaces for them to be the main acts and be really successful.” 

Through an emphasis on live music production, She is the Music supports women-led production teams by modeling industry practices through hands-on execution in planning, producing and curating live shows.

Now, the club has hosted a variety of shows since its development and new leadership. The club’s debut event, the Pink Pony Club-themed show in March of 2025, featured a lineup of emerging women artists and women-led bands at USC, such as Small Talk, Ayla Claire, Sophia Condon and Sofia Gomez. This show supported the charity Altadena Girls, in which the club raised $650 for the organization’s efforts to build community for teen girls affected by the Eaton Fire.

Last Thursday, the club held Rowfest, a live show in collaboration with the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity featuring an all-women line-up of USC artists specifically involved in Greek life. The show featured alternative artists such as Ziggy Sixx; Sophie Levy, a freshman majoring in popular music performance; Chenaur alongside the Pike band and returning She is the Music performer Ayla Claire as the show’s headliner.

“Sororities aren’t really able to throw anything or any events at their houses, so we were thinking, ‘Okay, how can we incorporate sorority talent into the Row?’” Chenaur said. 

Chenaur said since Pike had a band and she and Youssefyeh have friends in the fraternity, they felt comfortable hosting the event there.

“We make sure most of our involvement is done by women,” Youssefyeh said. “The music industry, obviously, is musicians, but it also spans into crew and even journalists and photographers.” 

Ali Scialabba, the club’s creative director and a sophomore majoring in music industry, designs the creative vision behind events and said she works closely with the performers to curate the show to their individual styles, genres and aesthetics. 

“We [make sure to] have an understanding of who they are, what their sound is, what they stand for and be able to intertwine that with our events, and, especially from a creative standpoint, combining their aesthetics and everything with all the visuals,” Scialabba said.

Rowfest was the final She is the Music event for the semester and brought together a variety of artists before an enthusiastic crowd. 

“[Rowfest] is a really good example of where we’re headed, and [it’s] really exciting to see where it’s going, because it’s our first collaboration,” Scialabba said. “The goal would be to continue to expand our art [and] our audience, and expand the reach we have with our artists; so, for example, just introducing all of our artists on the row to everybody else on the row.”

Behind the scenes, the leadership of She is the Music ensures that these events ultimately support the careers of artists who perform at them.

”It’s really exciting to play a part in the uprise of people’s music careers,” Scialabba said. “That’s what, in a nutshell, She is the Music stands for and is all about.”

Beyond live music events, Youssefyeh said she plans to coordinate a women in music panel for the chapter in future semesters, which would feature music industry professionals speaking on prevalent industry practices and issues. Additionally, the club plans to collaborate with more women-led organizations and clubs at USC, aiming to have a bigger presence on campus and continue.

“To have a show that’s female run, female led, female performed, like all of that, in a generally male-dominated space is so unique,” Youssefyeh said. “We’re really excited to see what else we can do in the next few years.”