Socks hanging from the ceiling and a proud energy from the Sounds of Colorado College (SoCC) filled Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center, bringing a sense of surprise and excitement to the Colorado College student body.
With designs and presentation created by assistant Nora Johnson ’28, SoCC’s Zone team produced the poster design, stickers and projection animations for each band while “prioritizing entertainment,” said co-general manager Sadie Almgren ‘26.
At first, this year’s Battle of the Bands carried an air of uncertainty leading up to the event, particularly regarding the final lineup.
Some groups remained quiet beforehand. As noted in the February 28 issue of The Catalyst, “New Bands Take Stage: SOCC’s Battle of the Bands Brings Fresh Sounds,” one band shared that “Men’s Lacrosse declined to comment in order to maintain their anonymity until the event.”
When the official lineup was finally revealed, some were amazed to see acts such as Men’s Lacrosse included, while other groups, including Rocky Mountain Guys, did not appear on the final lineup.
With that, the show went on and it struck a chord with students. “I wasn’t expecting much from the Battle of the Bands, but the bands were really good,” said Cassie Rosa ’29.
Among the performers, Ben and the Bassless Claims delivered a set that blended recognizable classics with a nostalgic tone. The band performed “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse and “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington Jr., featuring Angelina Natale ’28 as lead singer alongside Ben Bartlett ’28. They closed their set with “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles, bringing a lively, nostalgic energy that resonated throughout the Cornerstone building.
“It was neat seeing so many familiar faces from around campus on stage for Battle of the Bands,” said Chloe Lampert ‘27, referring to lead singer Natale, her roommate.
Colorado College Men’s Lax brought a mix of funk and EDM to their set, performing “Kids” by MGMT. Despite the name, the band wasn’t made up of Colorado College lacrosse players. Instead, Jack Sawyer ‘26, Wheeler Padgett ‘27, Lucas Berkemper ‘28 and EJ Becker ’28 took the stage, kicking off their debut Saturday night.
Next, Defacto performed their original song “Terminal A,” followed by a cover of “My Hero” by the Foo Fighters.
Domandi Domandi played crowd-pleasing classics, including “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne and “Voodoo Child” by Jimi Hendrix.
The crowd favorite and eventual winner, Jabbawocky, brought a loud, high-energy set to the stage. “It felt good to win,” said Burke Macleay ’26. “This is our third year playing in it, and we really worked to make the set sound clean and strong.” At one point, Asa Gartrell ’26 fired up the audience with a quick ten-second banjo moment that had the crowd screaming.
“Each group had its own unique sound and energy, which made it so much fun to jam along with them,” said Rosa.
A huge hit of the night was T.R.A.N.N.I. The band performed several original songs, including “CHASER,” “Elon Musk Took My Job, Killed My Dog and Tried to Fuck My Wife, but His Dick Was Too Small So Now We’re Forcibly Feminizing Him,” “Digital Crucifixion” and “Donald Trump Skinsuit,” according to members Flora Schmitz ’28 and Conner Skinner ’28.
Happy with the performance, Flora Schmitz ’28 said, “It might’ve been the best performance we’ve ever had.”
Schmitz also noted a memorable crowd reaction: “I noticed the group off to the right that jumped up and down when I said, ‘Ladies, gentlemen and those of us who know better,’ which I thought was really funny.”
Finally, another standout act of the night was Wild Goose Jazz, who shared the Battle of the Bands win with Jabbawocky. The night ended on a high note, bringing an energetic close to the weekend as students rolled into week two of Block 7.