Music has no limits for Brenna Fitzgerald.

That would explain how she plays all the instruments for her solo songs herself.

Fitzgerald (senior-music education) first became interested in music because of her mother, who was the singer and guitar player for a rock band in the '70s. Although she goes to college to study violin, the urge to learn more proved to be too much -- Fitgerald soon taught herself to play drums, guitar and bass.

"There were so many instruments in our house already," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald will bring her versatility to town when her band, Under The Radar, plays tonight at the Phyrst, 111 1/2 E. Beaver Ave., another appearance in a string of performances that began the first week of September.

The musicians in the band are multi-instrumentalists and are known to switch instruments during the set, drummer for the band Spencer Inch (senior-music performance) said.

Fitzgerald said after learning to play the violin, she learned how to play drums after one of her brother's friends left a drum set at her house.

The Coatesville native then joined her brother in the band Leaving Cash, based in Philadelphia.

When one of the guitarists for Leaving Cash could not play one of the songs she wrote, she started playing guitar, following in her mother's footsteps.

Fitzgerald also joined the Paul Green School of Rock Music in Downingtown in 2005, and then joined the rock school's All-Stars. The All-Stars did mini-tours, making stops at such music festivals as Lollapalooza in Chicago and the Tempe Music Festival in Tempe, Ariz.

During these mini-tours, she performed on stage with members of King Crimson and Steely Dan, she said, adding that these performances helped her become a better musician.

Fitzgerald also learned piano after taking classes at Penn State and primarily writes songs for guitar and piano.

A pervasive theme of some songs deals with the departure of some of the band members from Leaving Cash, she said.

Fitzgerald also likes to write songs from the perspective of others. She said she can write about experiences without mentioning names to make herself feel more a part of it and to air the other person's dirty laundry.

"For me, music and songwriting has always been an outlet," Fitzgerald said.

Matt Radomile, guitarist and vocalist for Leaving Cash, said Fitzgerald's versatility speaks volumes about her musical qualities.

"She's an unbelievable drummer, but she'll get up and play guitar and sing," Radomile said.

Fitzgerald will come down to Philadelphia to play with Leaving Cash on the weekends and return to school once the show is over, Radomile said.

"She's a real trooper," Radomile said. "I remember one time back in September that she had a test the next morning."

Fitzgerald is concentrating on writing and recording more songs. She wrote all the songs and played all the instruments for the music on her MySpace page.

Spencer said Under The Radar is an outlet for Fitzgerald to play her songs as well as perform covers. The main goal of Under The Radar is to have fun while the band is still at Penn State, he said -- true fame lies elsewhere.

"Leaving Cash is kind of the 'going somewhere' band," Inch said.