From a crowded fraternity to a restaurant patio, there is music to be listened to all over Penn State. If you hang around enough of these spots, you might come across Joe Downs. The senior majoring in computational data science has become a familiar name in the university’s live music scene.

Music has been a part of Downs’ life since childhood. He started playing piano in elementary school, and then in high school, he started singing and playing guitar. From then on, his musical talent all came together.

When Downs arrived at Penn State, performing was something he pursued beyond personal enjoyment.

“The Penn State scene is just so full of life,” Downs said. “The energy that the students and families bring makes me love to play, and this is just the perfect place to do so.”

As a freshman, Downs began reaching out to bars, and soon enough Café 210 West became his home stage. His success led to invitations to perform from more than just venues.

“People will see me at Café 210 and say, ‘Can you come play at our tailgate?’ Or my friends in frats will tell me, ‘Hey, we need you to come play at our house,'” Downs said.

For Downs, performing in Happy Valley has never been about trying to impress other people or stand out in a crowd. To the senior, he draws from the fact that he is a part of the community.

“It’s a lot of my friends that come out to support me, but I don’t realize how many people come see me outside of that group,” he said. “I get recognized in class, at bars, or just walking on the streets. It’s always really funny.”

What differentiates Downs’ is the versatility in his set lists. He adjusts his performances to match the environment he’s performing in.

“At a restaurant, I get to dive deeper into some of the songs I don’t get to play as often,” he said. “Whereas at a frat or tailgate, the fun part about it is the energy, so there’s nothing wrong with singing sing-along after sing-along.”

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If you’ve ever seen Downs perform or have seen him on social media, you’ll come across that the songs he performs tend to be crowd favorites. He knows what college students like because he is one.

“When I’m not performing, I’m in the crowd. I’m just a student and I’m just like everyone else,” Downs explains. “But I have a similar taste in music as the crowd, just because I’m a college kid. I think that allows me to be a little more relatable in a sense.”

His list of songs is now over 200. Game days lean into country. Parents’ weekend shifts towards the 70s and 80s. Frats call for a good classic sing-along. And if he spots the older folks in the crowd, “I can hit some Elvis or some 50s and 60s.”

Downs said that if there were one universal song that could get any crowd going, it would be “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. A song played at every home football game, and adored by every Penn State fan.

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Even with his strong presence in the State College music scene, Downs sees music as something he wants to preserve rather than chase a career with.

“It’s something I have so much fun doing,” Downs said. “I would never want to force it, is the biggest thing. But, if anything ever happened with it, I would be open to it.”

He continues to perform regularly, sharing upcoming events through his social media, @joedownsmusic, on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

“You hope when someone watches you play that they would want to see you again,” he said. “If you’ve ever seen me play, thank you for the support. I’d love to see you again.”