Five UMass bands took to the Drake stage on March 28 to battle it out for $250 and the chance to open for the WMUA spring concert headliner, Hotline TNT.
Ranging from rap covers to strong indie vocals, the Spring 2026 BOTB performances did not disappoint. The battling bands and WMUA crew kept the crowd hyped, from the pre-show music, to the reveal of the winning band. During the performances themselves, the energy in the room was palpable.
Caramia and The Breakdown opened the show with an upbeat original song, “Crash.” Lead singer Caramia Pozzi kept the audience captivated with her strong vocal presence, and the band worked together in harmony. They followed up “Crash” with another, slower original, “Down that Hole Again,” which Pozzi says she wrote in a Southwest field. On their final song, “Wyoming,” Pozzi brought on two guest singers, Sam Reisner and Maggie Gearan. Together, the three sang a triple harmony- accompanied by some mandolin flair- that drew in the audience, gaining cheers from the crowd.
Following the first act, The Reffers took the stage with a couple of original songs. The four piece band kept the energy going, and the crowd clapped along to the beat. Audience members could see The Reffers’ drummer keeping the beat in a bucket hat and pink heart-shaped sunglasses. The band closed with a cover of “Something” by The Beatles, with some acoustic ukulele to add to the ambience. The crowd enjoyed the familiar tune, and sang along heartily.
After ending with a slower song, The Reffers were followed by the action-packed band, The Bedsmokers. Each member of the band had their own pair of bunny ears, and they kept the momentum high for their whole set. Each band stood out for a certain element of their sound, and The Reffer’s had a very strong guitar presence. There were several groovy guitar riffs throughout their set that stuck out poignantly. The band was well known by many members of the audience, concertgoers were seen clapping and singing along to some of the band’s original songs. The audience especially enjoyed the closer number, a cover of “Join Us for a Bite,” from Five Nights at Freddy’s.
No other band topped the level of energy that the fourth band, Mortifex, produced at BOTB. The metal band took to the stage with a cover of “Open Sandman” by Metallica and the audience loved it. Mortifex’s lead singer, Eson Tang, had an incredible connection with the crowd, and his energy was unmatched. Tang shared that he was in the audience at last semester’s BOTB, which inspired him and his band to go for BOTB this semester. The band played some songs from their soon to be released debut album, “Glide Line,” and they ended their set with a screamo song before tossing some CDs of their album into the crowd.
BOTB Spring 2026 closed with a performance by Nefertiti, who performed covers of popular rap songs with an accompaniment of jazzy rock instrumentals. Before their set started, the band entertained the crowd with a little riff of “I Want You Back” by Jackson 5. Nefertiti opened with a cover of “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar, and the crowd enjoyed their jazz/rap/rock combination sound. The band also covered “See You Again,” by Tyler the Creator, featuring Kali Uchis, as well as “Fkn Around” by Phony Ppl, featuring Megan Thee Stallion.
WMUA directors Jason, Olivia, and Lyvia came on stage after a quick voting session to announce the Battle of the Bands Spring 2026 winner, Caramia and The Breakdown. The group was seen cheering and hugging each other on stage after their win was announced.
“I am so excited, I’m so grateful, I’m so proud of my band,” lead singer and UMass student Caramia Pozzi said about Caramia and The Breakdown’s win. “We worked so hard, practicing these original songs. I’m just so proud, I’m so happy.”
Their win was well received by the audience members. “I really like the first band that won, I really like the female vocalist, she was great,” UMass student Jami Buteau said.
Check out Caramia and The Breakdown as openers for the WMUA 2026 Spring Concert, featuring Hotline TNT, on April 25th at The Drake!
