Robyn Adele Anderson croons for the crowd

​The air conditioning had yet to kick in at the Appalachian Dining Hall as the band got ready for a sound check. Robyn Adele Anderson ’11 was back on campus experiencing two things she hadn’t encountered much as a student — a hot summer day and the opportunity to sing in front of an audience.

In the years since she graduated, she has become a full-time singer and was invited to perform at her alma mater for the Binghamton University Forum’s black-tie gala in June.

“It was so surreal to be back,” Anderson says. “Even though I’m not using the degrees I got here, attending Binghamton helped prepare me for the world and what I’m doing now.”

Anderson had considered going to a college where she could focus on developing her musical talents. Unsure if that would lead to a rewarding career, she enrolled at Binghamton University and studied political science and Arabic. After graduation, she went to work for the ANSOB Center for Refugees, a nonprofit in Queens helping immigrants adjust to the United States.

Collaborating with pianist Scott Bradlee, she became the original lead singer of Postmodern Jukebox, a genrebending band that puts a jazz and ragtime spin on today’s pop hits. The group’s videos have drawn huge followings on social media.

“After we got a million views a week on YouTube, it opened up a whole new world for us,” Anderson says. “On our first tour, we went to Prague, and I didn’t realize how much of a fan base we had. Nine hundred people came to our first concert. They thought we were a really famous American band, but we had just started to be out there.”

Anderson has since gone solo, creating a YouTube channel with nearly 500,000 subscribers. She’s known for her creative arrangements and authentic recording style in which every song is recorded live in one take. Her most popular covers include swing versions of System of a Down’s “Chop Suey” and Gorillaz’s “Clint Eastwood.”

Anderson now has a busy tour schedule and has made music a fulltime career. And her repertoire is expanding with her original music.

“My fan base is developing and, once in a blue moon, I’ll get recognized,” she says. “It’s crazy when it happens in New York City. People will stop me on the train, on the street or in the drug store. I’m always like, ‘What are the odds?’”