It is undebatable that the Class & Charter Day Concert (C&C Day) is the biggest music event hosted at Hamilton College every year. A runner-up is Battle of the Bands, which decides the C&C Day opener. This past Saturday, nine bands went head-to-head for the coveted opening slot. The music varied from 90s hits to angsty anthems to jazzy instrumentals. Every performer was incredibly talented and brought a powerful stage presence, with hopes of swaying voters. For the first time, everyone could tune into 88.7 WHCL FM after the battle concluded to discover the winner.

Each band only had ten minutes to blow us away and everyone brought their A-Game. The night opened with Berriez with their stunning vocals and insane guitar solos. Following their performance was Hellish Cowboys, complete with flannels and cowboy hats. The third performance of the night was Loose Change, Hamilton’s resident boy band. Following them were the incredible Frumptet — move-out-the-way, EDM, this is the only lyricless music I want to hear in the club. Fifth up were Spiritual Hangover, with the utmost angstiest vocals, making music that moves you. Spoon Fight kept these vibes going in their set, making the crowd go wild. Seventh was the incredibly high-energy performance from Shrimp Exit. After Shrimp Exit, Yonic Youth took the stage to remind us all that a vote for this girlband is a vote for women everywhere. Closing out the night was Junior Varsity, last year’s C&C Day opener. Every single band participating brought something unique and exciting to the night. From the moment Isa Cardoso of Berriez walked onto the stage we all knew we were in for a high-energy night bursting with talent.

While all the bands impressed us in their own way, the people voted and the winner of the 2024 Battle of the Bands was Junior Varsity. This will be their second-time opening for C&C Day. They perform the pop anthems everyone knows, while always keeping it fresh. From their horns section to insane guitar solos, Junior Varsity is taking the music we all love and putting their unique twist on it. Berriez came in second place. Their band stood out amongst their nine competitors, because of their leading woman’s incredible crowd work. Isa Cardoso called up planted singers from the crowd to join her. She taught us the words to their songs and told us when to scream. She even jumped into the crowd, singing directly to audience members. She has an uncontainable stage presence and electrified the audience. Even when I didn’t know what words to sing, I was plenty happy to jump around with her. Every member in Berriez seemed like they were having so much fun being on stage and performing for us, that energy was contagious. In third place was Yonic Youth, Hamilton’s favorite girlband. Their vocals were absolutely insane and their song choices showed it off. While introducing themselves, Georgia Brown ’25 made the band feel personable and fun. She joked about each of her bandsmates as a fun musical interlude backed her. Yonic Youth had an energizing performance completed with strategic gang vocals that filled up the space, while building the crowd’s energy. Though either of these bands would have been incredible to see at C&C Day, I am looking forward to seeing what Junior Varsity does.

If you are in need of more live music before C&C Day, this weekend the darkside Community Advisors, Sadove Late Nite and Center for Intersectional Feminism will be hosting Love Fest. Love Fest is a Valentine’s Day themed, sex-positive, music festival with a lineup of a capella groups and bands. The lineup includes: Tumbling After, Duelly Noted, Hamiltones, Special K, Berriez, Shrimp Exit and Bottom of the Barrel. There will also be sex-positive gifts raffled away to lucky fans. The doors open at 8:00 p.m. and the event begins at 8:30 p.m. in The Events Barn. This music festival is a great way to scratch that live music itch.