Food and music — they go together like a perfect melody. On Thursday, Oct. 31 at The Graduate by Hilton at USC, The Wild Honey Pie — a New York-based creative agency that started as a music blog — is hosting a one-of-a-kind party with pizza from Paulie Gee’s pizza + live music from rising star Annie DiRusso.

We caught up with Eric Weiner, the founder of the agency and the creative force behind the traveling pop-up events, to learn more about what the party will be like.

Eric Weiner is the founder of The Wild Honey Pie throwing parties across the country. | Photo by Emilio Herce

The Wild Honey Pie’s been introducing people to great music and food at events for years now. How did you decide to take the show on the road?

"It’s been a truly wild ride the last few years. We got our start as a music blog and now as a creative agency we’re hired by brands, like Graduate by Hilton to throw parties and make music videos with our favorite bands and chefs all over the country. We basically go wherever the client wants us to pop-up, hence us coming to Columbia. That was all Graduate by Hilton recognizing what we were doing in NY and thinking it would be rad to have us throw parties at their locations in Columbia, Tempe, Knoxville, and Berkeley."

We’re lucky to have the Halloween show here in Columbia at The Graduate. The lobby is actually a 100+ year old home that they preserved. What do you imagine the vibe and do you have a costume in mind?

"I chose my costume months ago. It’s a pizza party and no one loves pizza more than a Ninja Turtle. I’ll be dressed as Mikey cause he’s the most fun of the bunch. Vibe is going to be immaculate — only 150 people getting a truly VIP experience with amazing food from Paulie Gee’s made locally by Vita Da Pizza, performance by Nashville’s Annie DiRusso, fresh off her performance at the All Things Go festival, and lots of fun surprises for everyone."

Tell us about Annie DiRusso and the energy she’ll bring to the night.

"We love Annie DiRusso. She’s on a roll, working with the same management team as Cage the Elephant and some other great artists, recently played one of our 'Dinner Parties' in NYC which sold out super fast, and is just such a good human. We love working with her and if things go our way, we’ll be working with her a bunch more in the future. She has a stripped down set planned for this party that will really allow her songwriting and vocals to shine through."

Here's your chance to grab New York pizza in Cola. | Photo provided by The Wild Honey Pie

We’re in store for pizza? How did that collaboration with Paulie Gee's, Against the Grain, and Cosmic Bliss come together?

"I love Paulie Gee’s pizza. My fave pizza joints in NYC so when he agreed to collab on these parties I was stoked. We’re using his recipes and having Vita Da Pizza make the pizza locally in Columbia. Against the Grain helped us come up with a Gluten Free option and Cosmic Bliss is our dessert for these parties. Ugh, we so love all our partners."

What question do you have for our readers about your upcoming visit to Cola aka Soda City aka The Capital City?

"I want to know where I can get some good vegan food in Columbia. What are the best local bands? Where should we have our after party?" Let Eric know.