The turnout seemed small before the Horn Gallery’s Student Band Showcase last Saturday. But as the night wore on, hordes of people poured in; by the end of the concert, the crowd extended outside.

For students who feel the campus music scene is lacking after the the members of popular Kenyon band SPORTS graduated, there is hope in the weekend’s successful showcase. If anything, student musicians now have the chance to flourish in the wake of SPORTS’ departure. The showcase proved just how diverse Kenyon’s student music scene can be.

Biz Berthy ’17 and Kayla Rogers ’18, as well as other students involved with the Horn, organized the showas a platform for students to perform as a group or as solo musicians.

“I want to give students a space where they can show people what it is they’re doing,” Berthy said on how the show benefits students and the community. “I think that’s really important.”

The student band showcase presented a wide variety of music, from DJ/saxophone duo Milly $, with members Miles Shebar ’20 and Max Lazarus ’20 to an acoustic solo from Anna Deryck ’20, so attendees had a good chance of hearing their music genre of choice.

The crowd’s ever-increasing energy encouraged passionate performances by each musician, especially by the final act, the band Harvey Trisdale — consisting of members Carl Lehman ’17, Tim Gruber ’17, Evan Rasch ’17 and Jeremy Stern ’19 — whose performance was exhilarating.

“I love the music scene at Kenyon,” said Grace Fuisz ’19, a singer-songwriter who performed at the showcase. “I love that musicians are given a chance to perform.”

Paola Liendo ’20, attended the event for the variety of bands,.  “As a first year, I wanted to see the more underrepresented musicians on campus,” Liendo said.

Overall, the show was a brilliant presentation of the talent present on the Kenyon campus. “It’s really helped me work on performing,” Fuisz said about the Horn Gallery. “It’s a really supportive environment.”

The next show at the Horn Gallery, featuring the bands Lunch Cult and Palberta, will take place this Saturday, Sept. 17 at 9:30 p.m.

Article by Kara Morrison, staff writer