Hamilton College hosted its annual Battle of the Bands in a competition to determine which group will perform before the headliner on Class and Charter (C&C) day. At the Annex, students came to watch five bands perform three of their best songs each, then voted for their favorite band at the end of the show. The performing groups included Bodega, ESP, Get Zapped, Too Spongle and Yonic Youth. In the end, Get Zapped was the fan favorite and they will perform on C&C day. In an Instagram post, the band wrote, “We are so honored and so excited to perform for everyone on C&C day! Mark your calendars!”
Each band was extremely talented and showed the crowd their unique genre and skillset. The performances contained a range of music styles including rap, jazz, pop rock and classic hits. Some of the songs performed were “Birds of a Feather,” “My Funny Valentine,” “Just a Girl” and a rock rendition of “Bad Romance.” Each song is popular within their respective genre, but the bands put their own spin on the songs to make them uniquely theirs.
Hamilton students showed up to support their friends, listen to good music and dance. The entire crowd danced along to the music, swaying their arms and clapping to the beat. When “Mr. Brightside” was played, everyone sang along with excitement and intense energy. Many musical enthusiasts peppered the crowd. A few Buffers stood at the front of the crowd and brought high energyinto the space. Even though they spent the entirety of the previous day singing while delivering Valentine’s Day Buffergrams to students, teachers and even President Tepper.
President of the Buffers, Joey Tarlavsly ’25 danced to the music and commented that he was proud of his friend Isa Cardoso ’25, a member of Bodega, for their performance and amazing response to a faulty microphone. Cardroso managed to solve the microphone situation with finesse all while performing a song. The talented AV team stepped in at the end of the performance to make sure that the microphones would function going forward.
Bodega had strong crowd work: Cardosa ran around the front of the stage, singing to specific people at the front of the crowd and head-banging. She had an electric energy that lit up the crowd. Too Spongle also engaged the crowd with a Valentine’s Day themed performance. They threw rose petals into the audience and people reached out to catch them to bring home a souvenir.
Various instruments were featured in the Battle of the Bands and solos which highlighted their unique sound. There were multiple saxophones, some trumpets, bass and electric guitars, drums and even a tambourine. Each band had a different assortment of instruments that helped them sound special.
Battle of the Bands was a fantastic showcase of the talent of Hamilton students and presented an opportunity for the campus to come together. Chipotle catered the event and CAB offered custom Battle of the Bands stickers and t-shirts for concert goers. The event generated excitement as the audience got a taste of what is to come on C&C day. Congratulations to all of the bands!
