Students flooded the Harris Center for the inaugural Battle of the Bands, Freesound and Weekend’s first collaboration featuring student bands from across campus.
Freesound is a group on campus dedicated to making music accessible for students on campus. The group frequently provides music and equipment for on-campus events. Weekend is the College’s student-run events committee that plans and organizes substance-free events and activities.
Fui Hawsatitam `27, Freesound manager, said it is difficult for small organizations to host campus-wide events. “We thought it would be a great idea to collaborate with [Weekend] because they have a big budget and a lot of people that can help,” Hawsatitam said.
Battle of the Bands was the first time Freesound and Weekend co-hosted an event. Hawsatitam said Freesound hopes for future collaborations with Weekend. The event was well attended, with every table and corner of Harris filled.
Grinnell’s music scene has always been active, however, this event was made in order to allow smaller bands to perform for a larger group of students. “I just wanted a chance for new bands to be able to get their chance to play on with good equipment and with a good audience,” Hawsatitam said.
Hawsatitam said Freesound typically hosts smaller events for bands on campus in residence hall lounges. He said the smaller, more intimate vibe of campus music events presented challenges in getting bands to participate in the event. Hawsatitam said hosting Battle of the Bands in the Harris Center gave bands an opportunity to feel more comfortable performing in front of a larger audience.
Members of Freesound management agreed they will feel more confident in a larger number of bands signing up next time because of the success of the event.
The judges at this event were made up of a panel of students and a Grinnell alumna, as well as attendees themselves. Between each round of music, students could each vote for whichever band they chose. The winner of the event was Keegz, an alt-country band with a folksy vibe, who took the crown following their first performance that had the entire audience clapping along to the beat.
Each band had its own unique feel that appealed to different audience members. From the soulful genre-mixing performance by Toro, to the alternative intensity of the scream-filled performance by Partial Marxist, every band brought something new to the show.
Other bands included the Gradient, an alternative rock group with upbeat singing and a guitar solo, H!JACK, a rock band that encouraged singing along, and Booty jams, a saxophone and guitar-heavy instrumental group.
Jason Chigabatia `28, Booty jams member and a Freesound manager who helped coordinate the event, said, “I had a good time. It was fun. A lot of fun, man.”
The event had Raising Cane’s and Nepalese food available for both performers and attendees.
Hawsatitam and Chigabatia said they hope to make Battle of the Bands an annual event. “I want to encourage more newcomers to be more open to playing in public, like sharing their skills,” Chigabatia said.
Editor’s Note: Hana Hashimoto `28, S&B staff photographer, and Kanata Mizutani `28, S&B staff writer, participated in the Battle of the Bands. Hashimoto and Mizutani were not involved in the writing, editing or photographing for this article.
