WMUA’s biannual Battle of the Bands (BOTB) event kicked off at The Drake this past Saturday, October 18th at 8 pm for a night of student-led live music.
Open to the Five College students and the public, BOTB drew in a packed crowd, and tickets sold out.
Frances Ha, from Smith College, opened the event, performing three original songs, including their track “Untitled.” The band’s performance set the tone for the competition, drawing cheers and support for their whimsical beats. Lead singer Tessa swayed around the stage, mimicking the band’s lively yet melodic sound.
Following Frances Ha’s set was Death in Venice from Hampshire College. Before starting their set, Death in Venice’s lead vocalist condemned Israel’s genocide in Gaza, stating “If you’re not with it, get the f**k out!” The band’s punk energy and screamo vocals energized the crowd. Furthering their support of Palestine, the band sold their own pins, with proceeds going to Bridge of Solidarity, a mutual-aid organization in Gaza.
The energy of the crowd was electric for most of the night. Students in the front of the crowd were seen forming a mosh pit during Death in Venice’s set, and the audience went crazy for Art Heist’s Sam Oppedisano during his guitar solo on “Ramblin’ Man” by the Allman brothers.
The third act of the night was UMass’ own Dotted Line, featuring an eclectic ensemble of instruments. Members of the band performed on electric guitars, trumpets, a saxophone, trombone, clarinet, and keyboard. The band performed a jazzy, uplifting set, and ended with their song “Another Day.”
The Dotted Line was followed by Art Heist, also from UMass. The four-piece folk rock band performed their first show only in September, but this didn’t stop them from grabbing the audience’s attention. Lead vocalist Sean Kastantin played acoustic guitar, accompanied by a harmonica, Ben Feldman was on drums, DJ Repetto played bass, and Sam Oppedisano played lead guitar. The band played two originals and closed out their set to “Ramblin’ Man.”
The last two performances of the night were Ants of the Suburbs, with members from Mount Holyoke and UMass, and Smith College’s Total Rêve. Ants of the Suburbs had a mixed bag of songs in their set, performing mellow and upbeat tunes. One band member was seen jamming out on a fiddle.
Total Rêve opened their set with a cover of “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads. The band then performed two originals- “the first [is] about fish and the second about worms,” according to Total Rêve’s lead vocalist, Eleanor Gallay. As well as their original “The Ballad of Daffodil Brown,” based on Gallay’s Mini Cooper. The band closed with a cover of “Come Together” by The Beatles.
After six captivating performances and voting by the audience, WMUA announced the winner of BOTB 2025– Art Heist. The band, after hearing this news, jumped up and down together in the crowd, celebrating an unexpected win.
Lead vocalist Sean Kastantin said that winning Battle of the Bands felt “amazing” and “unbelievable.”
“To be able to hear all those great bands performing so many different styles, and being able to win, which means that we’re at least on par with them is a huge honor,” lead guitarist Sam Oppedisano said.
While Art Heist was surprised by their win, audience members were not. UMass students Sophie and Isha went to BOTB specifically for their friends in Art Heist, and they shared they were “so happy for them” when they won.
Although there can only be one winner, each band took away something priceless from the experience. Frances Ha found that doing BOTB helped them finish their original songs, a process that they found was most driven by
their guitarist, Ruby Kirk. The band recalled being compared to The Cranberries by an audience member, which their lead vocalist said was “the nicest thing ever.”
Although the winner of Battle of the Bands is known, one question still remains unanswered to many in attendance that night– who is Jason?
A group of rowdy concert-goers were heard shouting out “Jason” each and every time he stepped foot on the stage between sets. This “Jason” is none other than WMUA’s own events coordinator, UMass junior Jason Merlino, who organized and worked with The Drake to put on Battle of the Bands this semester. The Amherst Wire sat down with Merlino before last Saturday’s event to get some insight on what it’s like to be behind the scenes.
To prepare for BOTB each year, Merlino shared that the most difficult part for WMUA is figuring out the date the show will be put on. Since WMUA switched to hosting BOTB at the Drake a couple of years ago, trying to balance the venue’s busy schedule with finding the perfect date can be a challenge.
“It’s uncertain what date the Battle of the Bands is going to be each semester. The Drake is a popular venue, and they have many acts. I don’t really know what goes on in [The Drake’s Managing Director]’s end of the deal, but he’s got to go through a lot, I’m sure, to try and fit us in a slot that we’re not interfering,” Merlino said.
As events coordinator, Merlino also gets a lot of discretion in deciding which bands will be a part of the show.
“ I will go through all the submissions because they close Sunday night, and we’ll all listen to them and we’ll all give our input. Ultimately, it will be my final say, but it’s really a collaborative process to having the best people perform,” shared Merlino.
Merlino gave a shout-out to WMUA General Manager Lyvia Migliaccio for helping him with the BOTB planning process. Merlino said that Migliaccio helped with “any little snag about a date or set-up… I can just go to her and she’ll be like ‘Yeah! Here’s what you do,’ or she’ll say ‘It’s up to you.’”
Some upcoming WMUA events for Five College students are the annual fall concert and spring concert, as well as the spring semester Battle of the Bands, dates to be announced.
