The student-led music show “404 Del Sol” has created a platform for UCI’s musicians to take to the stage among their peers in a unique environment.
“404 Del Sol” events are organized by third-year political science major Jonathan David Penate and third-year public health science major Eric Olvera. Penate’s music journey started with his family’s Christian background. His father is a pastor at a church, so Penate and his family members frequently played in the church’s band. His father would play the bongos, his mother the keyboard and his brother played the guitar and drums. Penate’s older brother was the one who taught him to play the guitar in sixth grade.
“Music is deeply rooted into my family,” Penate said in an interview with New University.
Growing up in LA County, Olvera’s father played acoustic guitar and his mother and siblings enjoyed ‘80s rock music. Olvera started his own band almost two years ago. He plays the guitar and sings alongside his band members, performing throughout the SoCal area.
“I grew up on rock, and that’s what my band focuses on,” Olvera said.
Both Penate and Olvera are passionate about their music and wanted to perform their own set for the UCI community, while also creating an event where other students could perform alongside them.
Since they are both active in UCI’s music community, news of their events began to spread by word of mouth. As Penate and Olvera attended clubs and music events, their idea started getting some buzz. They then created the “404 Del Sol” Instagram account and connected with students through Discord, the UCI Snapchat story and even promoting their events on Reddit.
They posted a Google Form application on their Instagram targeted toward student artists and bands, which is still being used today. The application asks for basic information needed to accommodate the applicant’s performance at their event. For example, the number of members, the genre of music and what equipment they may need.
Their first show was held during week 3 of the spring 2024 quarter when they were second years. The event took place at their house 404 Camino Del Sol, and thus the name was created. To their surprise, it was a big success.
“We got so many applicants we didn’t expect, so we didn’t even perform ourselves the first time,” Penate said.
That same quarter, they hosted another successful event during week 9. So far there have been four total shows, the first two being held at Camino Del Sol and the most recent two in an off-campus house. The events are completely student-led and are not affiliated with UCI. All of the events are open-door with free application and admission, including drinks and snacks paid for by the organizers.
“We are losing money doing this ‘cause it’s coming out of our pockets, but it’s something we don’t mind,” Penate said.
Their fourth show — held on Jan. 24 — was their largest event yet, estimating nearly 100 attendees. Not only did musicians perform, but students with independent craft shops participated. Penate got the idea from visiting other shows and noticing the vendors. Two vendors were present, one of which made bracelets at the event.
When choosing performers they have to consider a plethora of factors. When the event had lower attendance, applicants were more likely to get to perform. As the events took off in popularity, they had to consider which applicants’ performances would be more feasible to accommodate. They also focus on group applicants, core aspects of a band and even solo artists. There is no consistency in the genres that have been performed, but they tend not to accept student DJs yet, as they would like to create a separate show for them.
“We’ve had bands that play punk music, bands that play indie music — I think we’ve had a metal band too, and garage rock,” Penate said.
The events are usually at the beginning of each quarter, and they aim to host at least one or two shows per quarter. While there is no official schedule of events, they encourage people to keep an eye out for when applications and event details are released on their Instagram.
The next show is on Saturday, April 12, during week 2 of the spring 2025 quarter. Applications were released on March 7 and the event was promoted in a recent Reddit post.
When Penate and Olvera’s time at UCI comes to an end, they intend to expand the show to be an LA County-based collective.
“Once it’s no longer at the school, all are welcome,” Olvera said.
Caroline Ambrose is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at carolisa@uci.edu.
Edited by Drew Askeland