S. Mariel Baumgarten ’29 Delivers a Magical Night of Music at WHRB

Amongst the fairy lights, couches for seats, and acoustic instruments, Pennypacker Hall’s basement was filled with music by one talented first year student. On March 13, WHRB — Harvard’s student-run commercial radio station — hosted singer-songwriter S. Mariel Baumgarten ’29 — known mononymously as Mariel. She played a mix of her 2025 debut album “Sunspit!” as well as a concept album she is currently working on.

At the beginning of the calendar year, WHRB advertised their space on Instagram, inviting both student and non-student artists to perform in Pennypacker Basement. Fortunately, Mariel was familiar with the organization early on at Harvard.

“I had actually started the comp process for WHRB in the first semester, particularly I was interested in Record Hospital and Jazz,” she said. “And then my responsibilities first semester just became kind of too crazy [to continue].”

When she found out about the act openings, Mariel jumped at the opportunity to share her music.

“I just love this space. I love how DIY it is, and I feel like it really speaks to the origins of a lot of music that’s played particularly on [Record Hospital], which I have more experience with,” she said. “It’s intimate, it’s homey, it’s really great.”

Canela E. Tustin ’29, an event organizer on the Record Hospital Board of WHRB — run by its rock music department — believes WHRB is an important part of campus life.

“I think it’s important to have a space where people can just go and relax and listen to good music, especially at Harvard,” Tustin said. “It’s really stressful sometimes academically, and it’s good to have a way to be passionate about other things.”

Mariel, as a student herself navigating college and its transition, found that her academics could even blend with her passion for music.

“I switched from Chemistry to English, and English actually supplements the music, or supplements the songwriting in a way that Chemistry did not,” she said. “I do love Chem, but I had to trade off, and I think it was worth it.”

Prior to the show, audience member Camila M. Escobar ’29 was eagerly anticipating cheering on her friend Mariel at her WHRB showcase.

“We met at Visitas, and I remember she showed me her music and I was like ‘damn this is actually really good,’ and then, of course, she performed at the first year talent show and it was so amazing,” Escobar said.

Tustin has been a fan of Mariel’s music since the release of “Sunspit!.” When asked about what she was most excited to hear, Tustin said she was specifically excited for “If I Had a Paper,“ “Sunspit!,” and “Oath of an Obfuscator.”

With those songs and others, the singer’s talent left an impact. After the concert, Escobar raved about Mariel’s performance.

“I feel like she picked the perfect mix of music, and then she had the Phoebe Bridgers cover, and that was just chef's kiss, it was so amazing,” Escobar said.

Accompanying Mariel on the banjo for around half of the songs was Nikolai Margulis ’29, another first year at Harvard — a departure from her recorded album in which she sang alone.

“I’m kind of sick of playing solo, I played solo for years and years,” Mariel said. “I think I started gigging when I was like 12, and I’ve played solo basically since that point and only started being able to collaborate with people on stage fairly recently. I love collaborating, I want to do it more – hint hint Nikolai, let’s go.”

For the entirety of the concert, Mariel stood with her guitar in hand. Between songs, she spoke to the audience and shared a few anecdotes, such as the origin of some of her songs and the inspiration for them.

“In terms of the kinds of stories that I write, a lot of the literature that I read when I was a kid is very much an influence,” she said. “I love fantasy and adventure books, so ‘[The] Chronicles of Narnia’ were a big thing.”

Mariel also said that she takes inspiration from “the natural world” and the places she goes. She became very excited when asked about the many artists that inspire her.

“I think the longest inspiration for me is this band called The Oh Hellos,” Mariel said. “They’re, I think, [an] eleven piece kind of folk rock band, with a lot of Celtic influence and they do a lot of conceptual stuff with literary references.”

After the concert, Escobar commented on the one-of-a-kind chance to sit in on Mariel’s performance. When asked what stood out to her, she praised her confident stage presence.

“Just watching her live is like a completely different experience,” Escobar said. “It’s something you can’t get from just listening to her on Spotify. She’s such a powerful performer, and it’s just amazing every time.”

In terms of when listeners will get to experience Mariel’s music next, the artist does not have a set timeline. She mentioned a goal of releasing another album or an EP with her newer, non-story songs by next spring — optimistically featuring Margulis some time in the future.

For now, Mariel is an artist to look out for with an unmistakable love and appreciation for music – something entirely evident from her performance in WHRB’s home base of Pennypacker Basement.