Runaround plays their final Jukebox.
Courtesy | Sophia Bryant

Student bands like Jett Cruz and the Bahama Mamas had only three hours to practice for Jukebox, an event at Elks Lodge in town where student bands perform student recommended songs on Feb 27. 

“We did an hour and a half on Tuesday and an hour and a half on Thursday, and then walked on the stage,” said senior Aidan Christian, lead singer of the Bahama Mamas. “We usually do a lot more rehearsal than that, but just because of the nature of a concert where the student body picks our set list, it wasn’t possible.”

The student bands Backspace, Dis Band, Jett Cruz and the Bahama Mamas, Plastic Frog Bank, and Runaround performed at Jukebox. 

Daniel Sturdy, junior and president of Theta Epsilon, the men’s music fraternity that hosts the event, said Jukebox is unique because the songs are chosen by students. 

“We don’t know our set list until a week before, which I think is super cool,” Sturdy said. “The week leading up to it, all the bands are practicing. I’m the president, so they’ve been practicing at my house. It’s been pretty much bands there, basically dusk to dawn.” 

Students submitted song recommendations two to three weeks before Jukebox, then voted for their favorite songs between the most popular recommendations. From there, members of Theta Epsilon compiled a list of the top 30 most voted songs, according to Christian. 

One representative from each student band that performed at Jukebox gathered for a draft to choose their songs. Each band chose five songs from student recommendations for their 40-minute set. 

“To learn 10 new songs in a week is impossible, at least for people that also have to do homework,” Christian said. “So at least for us, it was five new songs, and then five songs of whatever we wanted to play for this set list.”

Sturdy said “We Are Charlie Kirk” was the most recommended song, and “Kilby Girl” by the Backseat Lovers, “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay, and “50 Ways to Say Goodbye” by Train were the most voted songs.

“We pick from the ones that get a majority amount of recommendations, and the student body always recommends different songs than what you will normally hear,” Sturdy said. “With bands that want to play the same style of music, they usually play the same types of songs. So this is our way of branching out as well.” 

Sophomore Lenora Schupbach said she enjoyed Runaround and lead singer senior Daniel Doyle’s performance of “We Are Young” by Fun. 

“Daniel Doyle was getting emotional, when they were singing ‘We Are Young,’ that was really cool, and sad,” Schupback said. “And the Chi O’s in front of me, the senior girls, were crying.”

Christian said his favorite moment was finishing “Safari Song” by Greta Van Fleet, which he couldn’t sing before he joined the Bahama Mamas because it was half an octave above his range. 

“We tried to play that song last semester at a concert called Casablanca Palooza, but it didn’t go well,” Christian said. “I added the song to the set list for Jukebox, thinking ‘I got it this time,’ and it turned out I did. That felt really great. That was a really great moment for me.”

Christian said he also enjoyed playing “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. His band decided to play that song in the last five minutes of their last rehearsal for Jukebox. 

“It had a successful mosh pit, which was really cool, too,” Christian said. “I’ve never seen that at a Hillsdale event before.” 

Sophomore Sarah Bunek said she enjoyed senior Rachel Dunphey and Runaround’s performance of “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” by Olivia Dean. 

“All the girls were singing it,” Bunek said. “All the guys liked it, and they were dancing to it, but all the girls knew the lyrics.” 

Christian said that although he almost passed out during his set when the drummer, senior Nathan Fish, hit the drum because of the heat in the room, he thought his band’s performance went well.

“I started keeling over during ‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’” Christian said. “My ear was right next to the kick drum, and Fish hit the kick drum. And I was like, ‘I’ve got to keep going.’ And then I kind of messed up the form of the song. But yeah, it was good. Other than that, I think the rest of the set went pretty well, and people enjoyed it, and that makes me happy.”