This week The Argus sat down with Noah King ’25, a familiar face in the music scene on campus. King told us about his artistic growth, studying abroad in Valencia, and his potential future in New York City.

The Argus: Why do you think you were nominated to be a WesCeleb?

Noah King: I guess I would assume because of what I do on campus with music and theater and whatever else, just putting on events and stuff like that. I think a lot of people have seen me perform or have worked with me.

A: I remember one of my very first Wesleyan experiences was watching you and Connor [Wrubel ’25] play at that first open mic.

NK: Yeah, at that fucking open mic. We did it again as seniors for [New Student] Orientation [this year]. It was bad. It was not good. But it was fun.

A: Can you tell me about the music scene, how you got involved with it, and what you do now?

NK: I just remember coming in freshman year and being like, I gotta tell everyone I know that I’m a musician and I want to play music. I [was ready] to get a band together in the first week. Luckily, the music scene is very active and encourages you to be active. So I just started playing a lot and playing with other people a lot. And before I knew it, I was playing a show like every weekend. I learned about these different positions too: Sound Co-op, [Wesleyan Student Assembly’s] Concert Committee, running the [Usdan basement] practice rooms. I wanted to do all of them. And I got to. So that, I think, really made me a little too involved. All the time, music, music, music. Freshman year, there were like five bands that I was playing for. I can’t tell you what most of them were now, but I just remember meeting a lot of people, playing with Connor, playing with Bella [Amenta ’24], just picking up gigs. I played for the Christian Fellowship, I played Easter…

A: Easter? Actually?

NK: Yeah, I played Easter with Sam [Walker ’25]. I did a bunch of random stuff freshman year. But it just got me really deep.

A: How do you think music shapes student life on campus?

NK: It’s a huge part. I think for some people, it’s what they look forward to on the weekends. And some don’t even know anything about it, and that’s fine. [There are] options for a party on Fountain [Avenue], there’s a film screening, there’s something else, and then there’s a concert, you know? There’s always a concert. Like last weekend, there was a DJ set on Friday that I played at [Alpha Delta Phi], and then on Saturday we played a show at Hewitt with The Shed. And people were there, people come out, they want to come see music.

A: What drives you to make music or make art?

NK: I just love performing. I grew up doing theater after trying a lot of sports and failing at all of them. I was just in love with it, and I love doing plays and acting. And then I got more into music, and I was really excited about learning new instruments and playing with people. It’s just, like, what I do. It’s what I do all the time. It helps me to live, and then I get to bring it out to other people and let them experience it with me. Sharing that is so rewarding. That’s why I don’t just play, but I organize events and give people an opportunity to see something or do something they haven’t done before. Making art is just a way to answer questions, you know?

A: How do you think your art has changed since your freshman year?

NK: Oh my God. I feel like I’ve become a lot more conscious of how I play and how I play with other people, how my presence supports or takes away from a project that’s being made. I guess, when I came here, I was just playing songs with my friends, and now it’s like, okay wait, there are people here [who are] really passionate about playing and writing music, and I want to be a part of that. I want to help them do it. And I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the theater department. If I were a music major, I feel like it would have been a lot more thinking about music as music, and I love playing music, but I play music because I can perform. You know what I mean? I kind of play to perform. If there’s a show at the end of it, I’m gonna be a lot more excited than [I would be for] an album.

A: So when you studied abroad in Valencia [at the Berklee College of Music campus in Spain], did that feel different?

NK: I was still able to weave my way around. I came in as a guitarist because I wanted to get better at guitar specifically, but I was still able to play a shitload of bass because people needed it. Someplace like Berklee, it’s like, ‘You’re gonna go down this path and that’s what you’re going to do.’ There are people out there who love that, and there’s a reason I didn’t go to Berklee, right? Because I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy having to learn one instrument or going down one track. I was so happy to go do that semester, but I was excited to come back, for sure.

A: Do you have any particular plans or hopes for after graduation?

NK: Well, I know [that] I don’t like having to pick a thing. I like shows, and I like performing at shows, I like running sound at shows, and I like booking shows, and scheduling them, and making things happen. So I think some sort of event planning job, curatorial, or concert production, [a] production management kind of thing would be cool, you know? I think that’d be really cool.

A: Do you think you want to be in New York [City]?

NK: I definitely think I’ll be in New York. New York this summer was awesome. I mean, you know it, you were there. It was fucking great. But also, after a while, I was like, this kind of sucks. I could be in Massachusetts right now in the middle of the woods and be totally chilling. I was sick of it after a while. But I don’t know, New York seems like the only viable option. I guess I could go to, like Austin. Or Denver. I would never go to L.A. There’s no way. There’s absolutely no way.

A: Is there a moment or accomplishment from your time here that feels particularly special to you?

NK: I feel like [those moments at] the end of a concert. When I’m covered in sweat, and I’m exhausted, and I played with like two bands, I just packed up all the Sound Co-op equipment and everyone’s going home, and I’m going back to my house or wherever, and I just get a second to think about the work that I did. [There are] so many instances where I walk away from a show, and I’m like, ‘That was fucking ass,’ exhausted. Like, ‘Why the fuck do I do it?’ And then in retrospect, I’m like, ‘because I love it.’ There’s no reason not to, you know? That’s the only way to do it. And there [are] plenty of shows where nobody shows up after grinding to get the show organized, and then it happens, and you just keep going. And I think a lot of people can be swayed or dissuaded by, like, ‘What if nobody shows up? What if I don’t sound good?’ You still did it. You should still do it. If you like what you do, make it happen. I’ve messed up. You’ve seen it. A lot of people have seen me fuck up during a show.

A: I’ve never noticed.

NK: Exactly. People don’t notice. People don’t care. It’s not that deep. Just go out and do stuff. But yeah, those are definitely moments. Because if I keep doing this shit, that’s how I’ll probably end up: exhausted after whatever thing I work on.

A: And it’ll feel good. It’ll be good tired.

NK: I love being good tired. It’s like, I got something done.

A: Anything else you want to share?

NK: Come to my thesis! It’s gonna be crazy. It’s in February, though. So if you’re abroad, you’re scum. But yeah, it’s gonna be big. It’s kind of a culminating project of not letting myself go down one track. It’s six different mediums, different artists. We’re gonna make it together, and it’s gonna be about something that I care a lot about. I’m really excited to have this opportunity to extend my creative boundaries outside of just music or just acting, to let the people I trust help me create a project that hopefully I’ll remember forever. “When There’s No Love to Give,” that’s what it’s called.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sophie Jager can be reached at sjager@wesleyan.edu