A crowd dressed in pink gathered to watch artists Ella Jane and American University junior Alizeh Jawaid perform as part of Pink Noise, an on-campus music festival on Oct. 17.

They performed at the Woods-Brown Amphitheater, adorned with pink streamers and pink balloons, the calling card of Women in Audio.

The organization created Pink Noise as a way to highlight women and queer artists working in music and audio technology, said Jawaid, the social media chair of the club and the opener at Pink Noise.

Graziella Gulli, the secretary of the organization, wrote in a statement to AWOL that she sees the organization as a way to uplift people who are underrepresented in music.

“We created Pink Noise so that students across the campus could come together and build unity, creativity, joy and love through music and charity,” she wrote.

Jawaid said the event gave her a unique opportunity to work with an artist outside of AU.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love playing with other student bands,” she said. “I mean, that’s what I usually do. But it was a really cool experience to get to open for somebody who has a big name for herself.”

Word about the event spread beyond AU, attracting Washingtonians and other community members, Jawaid said. While broader community support is appreciated, she said AU is her priority.

“I think it’s great to have non-AU people come and participate in events like these, but I do think our focus should be on AU and what AU wants,” Jawaid said.

Pink Noise aims to cater toward students’ music taste, Jawaid said.

“I feel like our school very much caters to indie queer people, so we were really trying to find someone like that, and, additionally, a woman, because I know a problem we’ve had in the past is, like, not enough female representation in live events,” she said.

In the future, Jawaid said she is planning on introducing a form students can fill out to suggest artists.

“We’re really looking for these aspects of like, ‘Okay, AU, who embodies AU?’” Jawaid said.

Pink Noise doesn’t just serve as a platform for female musicians. It is also an opportunity for philanthropy and club collaboration, Jawaid said.

The collaborations included Mu Beta Psi running a bake sale, the Garden Club selling flowers, EGO Magazine helping with makeup and AU’s Audio Engineering Society helping to fund the event, she said.

“It was just a lot that came together, and I think it really made a difference, and it lightened the load for us a lot,” Jawaid said.

Pink Noise is also unique in its focus on student performers, she said.

“I think it’s really important to highlight the talent we have on campus before outreaching because we have so much,” she said.

When she performed at the most recent Spring 2025 AMFEST, Jawaid was the only AU student out of the three openers who performed, she said. She wishes that the university was more supportive of student musicians, she said.

“It would be really nice if they could get some student acts highlighted,” she said. “I know sometimes they do the dance groups, but it would be great if they could find AU bands and AU musicians and highlight them because there are so many. And I think a lot of people at American just don’t know them. It’s not like they’re purposefully ignoring the AU music department, but they just don’t know that we have so many people because it’s just not marketed.”

Beyond getting increased support across departments, Jawaid says Pink Noise could also benefit from increased support from the AU Club Council, which allocates and distributes funds to student organizations.

“From my limited perspective, I think they could do better, but I think every club suffered a lot of budget cuts this year, as did the whole school, which a lot of people are angry about, including me,” Jawaid said.

Women in Audio will continue to seek more funding in future years, she said.

“We’re hoping that what we can show from this event is enough to convince AUCC and maybe even other clubs that this is something worth investing in,” she said.

Until then, Jawaid said she is remaining optimistic.

“I just hope it takes off,” she said. “But I believe in us.”

Correction: An image caption has been updated to reflect that Frisch plays bass guitar, not guitar.