University of Michigan’s Battle of The Bands Highlights Student Musicians
Friday night, as always, University of Michigan students embarked on their journeys to party and dance the night away. Although, on this night, hundreds of students found themselves at the sold-out Battle of the Bands performance hosted at the historic Blind Pig, rather than in line for one of the many nearby bars.
Cherry TV kicked off the night with a jazzy rendition of Billie Eilish’s “wish you were gay.” Sung by Anna Agrawal, Eilish’s hit was soulful, moody, and the perfect choice to get the crowd engaged. Most of the audience quietly sang in tandem with Agrawal, and it was obvious that the band had the attention of everyone in the room. They followed this up with a few original songs that Kiran Mangrulkar (lead vocals) sang, and they ended their set with a high-energy rendition of “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees. Mangrulkar’s vocals were deep, raspy, and powerful—a direct contrast to the dancing and laughing from him and the band throughout the performance.
Following Cherry TV’s set, Hemmingway Lane (arguably the best band of the night) took to the stage for an unforgettable performance. Their set consisted of entirely original songs, but with the way they performed and captivated the audience, no one would’ve been able to tell. Their sound is clearly classified as indie rock, with obvious influences from bands such as The Backseat Lovers, but the upbeat piano melodies, bass-heavy guitar riffs, and Flood’s gritty vocals made the sound uniquely theirs. The crowd clearly agreed because by their last song of the set, “Teenage Fever Dream,” nearly everyone was playing into the band’s call and response, and the shouts for an encore when Hemmingway Lane left the stage were thunderous.
VUP, the next band in the lineup, brought quite a contrast to the previous two bands. Their staggering eight members took to the stage, and lead singer Ariana Kertsman began their performance with Stevie Wonder’s iconic “Superstition.” This performance, complete with scatting and a full jazz band solo from members Adam Hayes, Darren Lee, and Oh Cook, was captivating from the start. The band had a unique connection that was obvious to everyone in the room. The way they danced around each other—feeding off of each other’s energy—carried into both their performance and the crowd. Even as they finished with original songs unknown to most in the audience, they were able to cultivate a sound so completely joyous and carefree that no one in the audience was standing still or without a smile.
As Tea & Sympathy (pictured above) emerged, it felt like a clone of the previous band had taken the stage. Once again, a group of eight, complete with an entire brass section, flooded the stage. Yet the funky, 80’s feel to this band’s music made the differentiation between the two undeniable. Molly Schwall, lead singer and student, blew the crowd away with her vocal performance in their opening original song. Guitarist Andres Soto then took to the mic for a lively cover of Bad Bunny’s “Despues de la Playa.” The band was so energetic that even a song entirely in a foreign language had the crowd jumping and dancing with the most energy of the night.
The energy only grew when the Tea & Sympathy began their signature performance of ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!.” The liveliness of Schwall’s voice, coupled with the harmony of all of the members brought the song to life. For maybe the first time in history, a mosh pit formed to ABBA’s iconic chorus, and the ground shook under the weight of the entire audience jumping and dancing. The crowd enjoyed the performance so thoroughly that by the end of the song, an audience member had thrown their bra into Schwall’s hand as a token of their appreciation. Unsurprisingly, this group of eight went home with the cash prize and bragging rights as the winners of the night.
To bring the night to a close, the last band to perform was the R&B band Joe and the Ruckus. After such a high-energy performance, these four guys managed to bring the audience back down with their soulful, jazzy sound. Singer Joe Thomas wrapped the audience up in his smooth, rich voice as he took a page from VUP’s book and led the band in a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.” Like the other bands, Joe and the Ruckus moved towards their own originals for a few songs. These brought the band into a more funk-inspired sound, but the richness of Thomas’s voice never ceased. His stunning vocals entranced the audience, just as the beautiful instrumental solos from the rest of the band did.
The last song of the night brought back the energy of the room as saxophonist Sam Uribe joined Thomas in a stunning performance of Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady.” Uribe’s raspy vocals felt like they were made to compliment Thomas’s soulful sound, and the balance of their voices with the captivating, always-new guitar riffs and instrumentation from the rest of the band made this the perfect end to the night. As the song drew to a close, the crowd screamed for an encore that they knew was impossible, and when the band left the stage, the audience began to pack up and leave after an incredible night of appreciating live music.