By: Ashley Bavis ‘25 – Published in Fall 2025 Issue 2
If you’re located in the Capital Region, you might have the slightest sense that Troy is where the art scene has been thriving. The city is packed with small businesses open to promoting local artists eager to get seen or heard. One place doing exactly that is No Fun, a live music venue named after a renowned song by The Stooges. It’s located where River Street meets Franklin and is lined up with entertainers through the next couple of months.
The venue was opened in December 2021 by August Rosa and has had overwhelming success since then. Within almost 3 years of being open, they’ve held performances by various bands who come from different parts of the country. In January 2023, they had Slaughter Beach, Dog, a band that originally formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On Nov. 1, they had Guerilla Toss headlining, which came from Boston, Massachusetts. It’s not just the North East where these bands come from. Spaceface performed there in September 2022, and they came all the way from Memphis, Tennessee.
An assortment of events are held at No Fun, such as VHS nights, where they rent movies and play them on actual VHSes! Right before Halloween on the night of Oct. 29, they played Night of the Demons (1988) and Ghoulies (1985)— staying on theme with the season. They also hosted their Planetarium Halloween party on the 26th, a dance party with an astrological theme presented by First House Astrology and Syd Silvair (they have it every year).
No Fun is more than just a place where people gather to party and dance to any song that happens to be on. With their signature checkered floors and sticker-covered walls, No Fun is for music lovers to discover something new and support artists who are trying to build a platform for themselves. In a world where there is a growing number of aspiring musicians coming out with innovative new beats, it can be hard for people to find what they like without being overwhelmed by so many new sounds. If someone out there is in desperate need of hearing something they’ve never heard before in an environment patrons have deemed as safe and cozy, No Fun on River St. is the place to be.