On Friday, April 8, the Chapel diverged from its usual orchestral and choral performers by welcoming the participants of this year’s Battle of the Bands. The event was sched­uled to start at 7:00 p.m., but due to a lengthy sound check didn’t begin until around 7:20 p.m. A relatively large group was in attendance, fill­ing up most of the main floor of the Chapel. The crowd was comprised of fellow students cheering their friends on, members of the faculty and Hamilton residents.

The event began with emcee ju­nior Jay Bauer introducing the first act, Colgate Rock & Roll Association for Brothers and Sisters (CRRABS), who performed their own version of “Requiem for a Dream.”

Following CRRABS was Colgate’s Asian Awareness Coalition. Front­woman sophomore Caitlin Gross­jung wrote and compiled their song “Planes.” Her vocals were great, but unfortunately difficult to hear over the amped up drums and guitar.

Next up was The McDowell Brothers from Hamilton performing on drums and keyboard two of their original songs. Their performance was upbeat and their lyrics refreshing.

Next up was the one-man act Khan, who also performed two origi­nal songs: “Skies Over Metropolis,” which he described as his take on “Empire State of Mind” and “Naked in the Dojo.”

Then came the much anticipated and crowd-pleasing performance by Swagged Up Squad (S.U.S.) who sang the fan-favorite “Colgate.” Not only did S.U.S. manage to get everyone in the audience on their feet, but the crowd was clearly reenergized for the remainder of the show after getting to dance and sing-along to S.U.S.

Finally, Barge-regulars Rabbit in the Rye ended the night perform­ing two original songs and employing unique instruments including an accordion. Rabbit in the Rye was one of my favorites of the night, not only for their diversity of sounds and originality of lyr­ics, but also because they seemed to be right on par with the likes of Bon Iver or Fleet Foxes. Next time they’re at the Barge, I would highly recommend going.

Overall, the event seemed to be a great success. While there were times in which the audi­ence’s chatter overpowered the musicians on stage, many of those who didn’t want to be there left early, leaving those who truly ap­preciated the music to enjoy the rest of the concert in peace.

The event was organized and sponsored by CAB Music, Broad­street Records and Delta Upsilon (DU). All proceeds from the con­cert went to Uplifting Athletes, an organization made up of athletes who help work towards finding a cure for the disease of their choos­ing. Junior Kevin Morgan heads up Colgate’s chapter of Uplifting Ath­letes. Thanks to all in attendance and those who donated, over $400 was raised for the organization.

To determine this year’s win­ner a panel of judges including Lecturer in University Studies Matt Leone, junior Kevin Mor­gan, first-year Joshua Lasker, first-year Alex Fisch and first-year Daniel Swiecki decided who would best fit the Colgate com­munity to open for the head­liner of Spring Party Weekend. After choosing to leave Swagged Up Squad out of the running, as they would be performing at another event during Spring Party Weekend, the winner was announced to be CRRABS. So, in case you missed this great medley of music, head down to Whitnall Field (weather permitting!) at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday April 16, to hear CRRABS perform before B.o.B.