On Friday, Leadership hosted its 20th annual Battle of the Bands on the Green. Students and families gathered on the grass to enjoy live music, barbecue, and baked goods.
Eleven talented groups of students competed, with acts ranging from jazz to rock. The three judges—photography teacher Sarah Frivold, band director William Flaherty, and ceramics teacher Michael Burton-Tilson—decided the winning team, whose prize will be a performance at the Spring Rally.
Goat Rodeo (freshmen Calvin Blanford, Matthew Teeple, Evan Chopra, Henrique Carvalho, and Nir Marcovitz) kicked off the night with passionate covers of classics like “Life is a Highway” and “Don’t Stop Believing,” verbed by impressive guitar work. The performance was lively and set high spirits for the rest of the night.
Next up was Agnes (seniors James Polly, Sergio Ramirez, Audrey Baker, and Diego Jaime-Sachs). The band members exhibited a collaborative effort, each having a moment on the microphone and keeping the rhythm alive on their drums and electric guitars.
Range (seniors Allison Hurley, Logan Greenbaum, and Jude Wilson) impressed the crowd with their captivating vocals, illuminated by their covers of “Wicked Game” and Lana Del Rey’s alluring “West Coast.” Hurley said, “I loved watching everybody perform and, despite some nerves, I had a great time on and off stage.”
Nathan’s Fearless Five (junior Will Knox and seniors Nathan Tokunaga, Nicholas Oey, Josh Lin, and Ivo Maringouin), dressed eloquently in suits, brought an air of elegance to the show with their choice of jazz music. Their skills, specifically on the saxophone, earned awe from the audience.
As the sun began to set, Plan Bee (junior Chloe Krummer and senior Bianka Zelaya) delivered a beautiful rendition of “I Love You Baby” and then sang a song in Spanish to honor Mexican Mothers Day, which was also on the tenth.
Blue Mascara (seniors Allison Hurley, Logan Greenbaum, Collin Goel, Zachary Gosler) took their band name to heart, with each member sporting blue streaks in their hair. With an ‘80s-themed performance, the group had everybody dancing to their cover of “Material Girl.”
啊雖然我 or Although (junior Rose Klingsporn and seniors Wilona Chen, Sophie Duda, and Allison Hurley), wowed spectators with their rendition of “Stay With Me” that altered between singing in English and in Japanese.
Petricolor (juniors Luke Lindsey and Rose Klingsporn and seniors Sophie Duda and Zachary Gosler) was last year’s winner, and they put up an impressive performance this year as well. The group’s mastery of both vocals and instruments was apparent, and they shined in their performances.
Bear Necessities (juniors Joshua Pfistner, Ben Cisco, William Knox, Arman Azadpour, Benji Weiss, and Max Gurnee, and seniors Sina Kassayan, Zachary Gosler, and Caleb Travers) had everybody dancing. Illuminated by colorful LED lights, the members of this jazz band perfectly captured the instrumentals of hit songs like “Hello” by Adele. Cisco said, “Our stage presence is what made our performance so engaging and successful.”
Nocturnal Paranoia (senior Logan Greenbaum and juniors Chloe Krummer, Kash Hodges, and Alice Sauquet) played a cover of Miley Cyrus’s “Heart of Glass” and then three original songs.
This remarkable performance granted them the first-place spot, crowning Nocturnal Paranoia as the 2024 champion of Battle of the Bands.
Greenbaum* said, “I loved interacting with all the different musicians because they are all super cool and supportive.” They continued, “All of us in the band are used to entertaining and being in front of a crowd, so that helped a lot.”
Although Made in California (juniors Benjamin Weiss, Lia Lev, Connor Cheng, and Kash Hodges) played directly after the winners, this didn’t dull their spark. Their cover of “Love Story” was the perfect way to end the night.
Battle of the Bands always boasts incredible talent, and the competition this year was strong. Come to the Spring Rally on Friday, May 24th to see Nocturnal Paranoias’ encore!
*Greenbaum is also a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
