Ears Wide Open

Ears Wide Open

Ears Wide Open is a student-conceived, student-administered and student-presented concert series at the University of South Carolina that presents adventurous, high-quality performances for USC students, by USC students to make live music an integral part of the university student experience while increasing the USC School of Music on-campus visibility.

The Series

Ears Wide Open presents four concerts per school year with the interests of university students and campus community members in mind through the use of non-traditional venues, thoughtful programming, and compelling interdisciplinary collaborations. The EWO team proudly combines a variety of majors and minors in Music Performance, Music Industry Studies, Jazz Studies, Finance, Marketing, Entertainment, Film, and Media Arts, all from undergraduate through DMA students. The team consists of an Artistic Director, Operations and House Manager, Financial Officer and Assistant Stage Manager, Marketing and Social Media Director and House Manager, Technical Director, and a Logistics Director and Stage Manager. The EWO team works closely with two faculty advisors, Dr. Jennifer-Parker Harley and Dr. Mike Harley, and the School of Music Dean Harding.

The series strives to promote the importance of live music and models innovation, empathy, inclusivity, and curiosity through the arts.

2025-26 Events

November 7, 2025
Painting with Sound at Thomas Cooper Library
Join EWO in making some art! Featuring musicians of USC’s The Collective and composer Austin Engelhardt, we’ll be making visual music on canvases outside of Thomas Cooper on the afternoon of November 7. Audience participation is encouraged! Come talk to our musicians and help bring shape to sound together. We’ll be hosting a giveaway to take home a piece of art, too!

November 13, 2025, 10 - 11 a.m.
Breakfast Blues: Jazz + WUSC at the Public Health Garden

Come hear USC jazz musicians perform a concert in celebration of USC’s Arnold School of Public Health's 50th anniversary! Breakfast Blues will be hosted in the Public Health Courtyard.

This special event marks the first-ever collaboration between Ears Wide Open Concert Series and WUSC, which will broadcast the music live on 90.5FM and online at wusc.fm. Complimentary coffee and pastries from Sweetwaters will be served.

May 2, 2026
School of Music Formal with Sigma Alpha Iota