The annual Battle of the Bands, put on by the music fraternity formerly known as Phi Mu Alpha, will take place Nov. 17, from 8 p.m. to midnight at 55 Below. Five featured bands will compete before a panel of three judges.
The competing bands are Hexagon Sandwich, Runaround, Schizmatics, Spike Jaeger and the Spitfires, and Diet of Worms, playing in that order. Students can purchase tickets in the union before the event for $3 and at the door for $5.
“We like to give bands a chance to play for an audience, one because we love to play music and to perform, and two because a little friendly competition never hurt anybody,” said Matt Byrne, president of the music fraternity.
The judging panel will consist of Jonathan Gregg, assistant professor of education; Jordan Wales, associate professor of theology; and Dwight Lindley, associate professor of English.
Hexagon Sandwich is a new band, created this week with the express purpose of being the fifth band in this year’s battle.
“We have this running joke on the cross country team that we call the Taco Bell crunchwrap supreme the hexagon sandwich, so I just said hexagon sandwich, and we loved it,” junior Caleb Bigler said. “And I think if we can get momentum behind our bands this week, CHP Showdown will happen for us.”
Performing music from artists like Noah Kahan to Mumford & Sons to Beatles, the band members describe their sound as rock, country, and indie.
“Those are our three buzzwords: country, rock, and indie,” Bigler said. “The funny thing about us is our three guys who are singing all have completely different tastes, so we are justdoing the songs that will go hard.”
Runaround will also be performing at Battle of the Bands for the first time, making its debut with covers ranging from classic artists like Journey and Elton John to more modern tunes like those from Bruno Mars.
“I am in the music fraternity, so I was there last year,” sophomore and Runaround lead singer Daniel Doyle said. “I really enjoyed it. I think it’s a really great spot to get our music out there, and I think we’ve got a lot of talent that hasn’t performed for a big audience yet.”
Spike Jaeger and the Spitfires, the official band of the music fraternity, will err more on the side of alternative and classic rock, playing artists such as Led Zeppelin, Guns N’ Roses, and My Chemical Romance.
“We try to choose songs we like to play and songs for people to sing and dance along to,” lead singer and senior Stephen Berntson said. “I’d say our set is a pretty good mix of rock and modern favorites. Honestly, it’s pretty eclectic.”
Schizmatics will perform at Battle of the Bands for the second time, and its set will feature covers of artists such as Bruno Mars, Michael Jackson, and Billy Joel.
“The songs are a mix of old favorites from the last two years and also some new ones especially for these events,” junior Gavin Listro said. “We try to pick ones that people know fairly well but also balance that with how fun they are to play for us, so everyone has a good time.”
Diet of Worms, also performing for the second year, will end the night with a combination pop and alternative rock set, covering songs from Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and The Backseat Lovers to name a few.
“We’re excited to return to an event that has such a special place in the history of our band,” sophomore Erik Teder said. “We’re looking forward to bringing the hype with a few Diet of Worms classics and some crowd favorites.”