MARIS, a Los Angeles-based pop star, will open for The Driver Era alongside two student bands and Sydney Ross Mitchell on Friday night. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/BRIAN POPOWITZ

Although singer-songwriter MARIS never attended college herself, she is on a College Tour to experience what college life is like — making a round to USF this Friday through the university’s Bullstock Music Festival.

MARIS said she is “super stoked” to watch and dance to the two student bands, Sydney Ross Mitchell and The Driver Era this Friday.

“I love just meeting new people,” she said. “So I think that’s probably the part I’m most excited about.”

MARIS, born Maris Maddux-Ward, is a 26-year-old Los Angeles-based pop-rock artist. 

Still, her roots and fame stem from her childhood — especially through mixtapes her sister made for her in their family home in Missoula, Montana.

“I feel like music has always been like a friend to me,” she said. “So when I was figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, I couldn’t really think of anything else, because the only thing I ever wanted to do is make music and listen to music.”

Since starting her music career about a decade ago, MARIS has released 21 singles and two EPs — with another EP and a nationwide tour coming in fall 2026.

Still, MARIS’s rise to fame was kick-started by a 2017 video of her singing Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” into a Kikkoman soy sauce bottle on X, which earned more than four million views. 

“That did crazy numbers, and it was back when going viral was, I guess, kind of more rare because not as many people were posting themselves,” she said. “So it really translated to people hearing my voice.”

Related: USF’s guest speaker series books Brittany Broski for USF Week 

MARIS said she started her music career around that same time, through SoundCloud covers and hand-burned CDs while she was still in high school.

Later that year, MARIS moved to New York to start singing and performing in shows. 

“That’s actually part of why I’m on a college tour for this run,” she said. “I never went to college, but I always kind of wanted the college experience, so this is my opportunity to get to go.”

MARIS said her latest single — “Missing Me” — was released April 3 and is about coping with the jealousy of seeing a former friend start hanging out with new people as they move on.

“I feel like my favorite songs that I’ve written, and the ones that feel the most kind of powerful to me, are the ones that I wrote because I had nowhere else to process what I was feeling and what I was going through,” MARIS said.

MARIS said she loves making her own music and drawing inspiration from other artists, such as One Direction, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. She also loves collaborating with other artists, writers and producers to make music.

“Being able to have my ideas and my sonic library of what I grew up listening to and what I am trying to say, combined with somebody else’s history of what they love about music, I just think that’s when the magic really happens,” she said.

MARIS said she believes the writing and creative process of making music — from developing a sound to adding lyrics to articulate a concept — takes time and life experience to improve.

“Every part is different, but every part is expressive,” MARIS said. “And I think the part that feels the most innate to me that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop doing is writing.”

Related: OPINION: USF and Tampa music scenes need more female representation 

MARIS said she started painting a stream of silver glitter stars across her left eye and forehead in high school.

Over time, that glitter turned into eyeliner that would smear while she played punk rock gigs in New York bars, evolving her brand and look into something more graphic and memorable for her audience.

“I’m actually pretty shy and introverted, but when I’m stepping on the stage, I want to be somebody that draws joy and confidence out of other people,” MARIS said.

To overcome this introversion while performing, MARIS began to embody the star as a stage persona, which made her more comfortable on stage and when interacting with her fans.

“I think the star feels like an identifiable way to be like, ‘Well, this is a person that is lovely and wonderful and joyful,’” MARIS said. “And now when I get to see it on other people, it just fills me with delight and glee.”

Related: USF Battle of the Bands names two Bullstock openers 

Camryn Frost, a senior integrated public relations and advertising major, said she has been a fan of MARIS since March 2025, when she met the artist at an indie pop concert by Maude Latour.

“I went for the main act, but was instantly in love with her free spirit and engaging performance,” Frost said. 

Frost said her favorite MARIS song is “Mary + I,” which was released as a single in May 2025, because of its dance, note changes and energetic backtracks.

“Since I’ve started listening to MARIS, I’ve watched her become more comfortable in herself and her expression,” Frost said.

Frost added that she plans to see MARIS at Bullstock this Friday, where she hopes to hear new songs and make the most out of her last Bullstock concert as a USF student.

“She is such a positive and fun presence,” Frost said. “You won’t regret seeing her set.”

MARIS said her work focuses on building community and celebrating togetherness, rather than division and partisanship.

“I just really want to create a space where people can just get to know each other, have fun and release their worries and their cares for a night and just party,” she said.

After her Bullstock performance, MARIS will perform in Gainesville, Florida, on April 11, followed by Tallahassee on April 12, before continuing north for her tour.