Antonette Dietz, Staff Writer for the whit
On April 2, 2026, the famous Rowan University made band, Calling From Pluto, took to the science hall rooftop to perform ahead of their first album debut.
The band took the stage that Thursday night with a full audience of listeners, as well as the Rowan Television Network (RTN) crew for RU listening, filming the entirety of the show.
Like a lot of student artists on campus, Calling From Pluto sits slightly outside the formal music structure that Rowan offers. The university has no shortage of official ensembles and performance opportunities, from concert bands to jazz groups open to students across all majors.
But for bands like this, the process looks different. There’s no built-in audience, no guaranteed venue, no institutional backing, just a passion to make music and find somewhere to play it.
The venue worked perfectly with the band’s name playing into their space theme. When you take the elevator up, you enter a neon colored room with stars and a sign that reads ‘to Pluto’. An interactive and creative experience like this made for a great start to the show.
This show was produced by RU Listening with the help of their producer, Chiemeka Chukwueke, to execute this.
“Adam [Reim] and I had joked about doing a rooftop concert similar to what the Beatles did in 1969,” said Chukwueke. “Adam spoke to Dr. Eddie Guerra, and he was able to give us access to the roof. It went from being a dream to a reality. I can’t believe this really happened. It’s a dream come true.”
The show hit a snag when two professors called the Rowan University Police Department (RUPD) on the show during sound check. The two professors, Dr. Laughlin and Dr. Bente Vega, were adamant that the concert was not to continue. After calling RUPD, they went up to the roof and demanded that they break down their instruments and cancel the show. The two professors were shut down after a conversation with Dr. Guerra, and the show was able to go on.
The crew of RU listening was thrilled to be filming this show. Each member of the crew played an important role in making sure everything ran smoothly, and everyone on the roof was safe.
“If this all goes well, which I think it will, look at all the people behind us. They could do similar fun events like this,” said AJ Polito, main camera operator during the show.
The band performed a number of songs, having about an hour-long set. They performed one of their singles Pluto as well as a few covers like “Runaway Baby” by Bruno Mars.
The crowd spent the entire time cheering, singing, and dancing along with the band, and truly living this once-in-a-lifetime experience. They played six original songs, including “Teeth,” “Pluto,” “Sigh of My Guitar,” “Fast Fashion,” “10 Eyes,” and “Woman Eater.”
After the show was over, they thanked everyone for coming and promoted their debut album, “Reframed,” which is set to be released on April 17.
“After the album is out, we plan to go on tour and keep playing music as much as we can, mainly around the East Coast area,” said Amanda Valentina, lead singer of the band. “A lot of us are done with school soon, so we’re kind of free to roam after that. We’re going to go wherever the wind takes us.”
The band debuted their first-ever music video only a few days later. The video featured another well-known Rowan band, The Estrogents, and was based on their single “Teeth.” Calling From Pluto is a band to keep an eye on, and with this new debut album dropping this Friday, it could mean big things for them.
For comments/questions about this story, DM us on Instagram @thewhitatrowan or email Mackay55@rowan.edu
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