Leadership hosted its 21st annual Battle of the Bands on the Green on Friday. To kick off M-A’s annual Arts Festival week, students and families gathered to enjoy the live music, summer air, and fresh food.
Six bands varying in music genres and instruments competed. The three judges—Guitar teacher John Jordan, Ceramics teacher Michael Burton-Tilson, and M-A parent Richard Nieva—decided the winner at the end of the night. The prize included an encore and the winning band’s name engraved on a plaque in Pride Hall.
The first band, Made in California (seniors Lia Lev*, Connor Cheng, Benji Weiss*, Arthur Renard, Kash Hodges, and Annabelle Bock) kicked off the show with a dynamic cover of “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan featuring guitar and drum notes. Lev also performed an original song, “Music Box,” wowing the audience. They ended their performance with an upbeat cover of “It’s Raining Men” by the Weather Girls.
The following band, Flower Girl (seniors Rose Klingsporn, Luke Lindsey, Syd Ernest, freshmen Jaime Parada, and Fiona McGaraghan), sang electric covers of “Me and Your Mama” by Childish Gambino and “Kill Bill” by SZA, standing out with their electric keyboard that complemented McGaraghan’s alluring vocals.
Next up was Goat Rodeo (sophomores Calvin Blanford, Evan Chopra, Matthew Teeple, Nir Marcovitz, and Henrique Carvalho). The band sang passionate covers of “Can’t Stop” by Red Hot Chili Peppers featuring electric guitars and rhythmic drumming. Closing with an enthusiastic cover of “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. Goat Rodeo impressed the crowd with their strong energy.
Guac (juniors Gaelen Booth, Kealy Bryman, Kai Wenzel, Emile Freeman, and Alessandra Hartwig*) took the stage with jazzy vocals and guitar notes of “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5 and “Sour Candy” by Melt. They ended their performance with a rendition of “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse, which got the crowd singing along and dancing.
Baddie Criteria (seniors Kash Hodges, Zane Watson, Evan Kirmse, Chloe Krummer, and Bianca Zelaya) brought bounds of energy with a rock performance of “All Around Me” by Flyleaf and “Everlong” by Foo Fighters. Featuring strong vocals and upbeat instrumentals, they set themselves apart from the rest of the bands with their drums and guitar, ending with a rock twist of “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry.
The last band to play was What in Carnation (seniors Will Knox, Joshua Pfistner, Lev, Lexi Chua, Rose Klingsporn, Anna Justice, Weiss, sophomore Joseph Tompkins, and other Hadestown cast), who did a playful instrumental cover of “Funky Town” by Lipps Inc. using various instruments ranging from the trumpet to the banjo. They ended their performance with “We Built The Wall” from M-A’s rendition of Hadestown, sung by Tompkins, who played Hades, and other cast members from the play.
As the sun began to set, the winner was announced to the anticipating crowd. Baddie Criteria took first place, selected because of their outstanding vocals and unique rock performance. Their encore featured an electric cover of “Beggin’” by Maneskin, encouraging the audience to dance with the rhythm as the night came to an end.
“I’m a very shy person, but I feel like myself on stage,” Zelaya, the lead singer of Baddie Criteria, said. “I think getting the opportunity to show people at school who I really am is really cool.”
“Working with band kids is fun because they do a lot of it themselves and they come and sort of set it up all on their own,” junior Gaelen Booth, one of the organizers of the event, said.
Battle of the Bands showcased the diverse musical talents of students all throughout M-A and brought the community together to celebrate the love of music. “It’s really cool to see something that my classmates put so much effort into,” junior Matilda Smart said.
*Lia Lev, Benji Weiss, and Alessandra Hartwig are journalists for the M-A Chronicle
