With 100 free shirts to give out and a light layer of snow beginning to dust the ground, the Horn Gallery opened its doors at 8 p.m. on Saturday night to welcome attendees for Kenyon’s fourth annual Battle of the Bands, hosted by the Horn and Social Board. As some students waited in line for free tacos from a nearby food truck, others piled into the venue. A total of nine bands performed, all vying for the opportunity to be one of the three student bands that will perform at this year’s Summer Sendoff. This year, bands performed with their backs to the Upper Horn’s large window, so as soon as audience members walked inside the room, they were facing the music.

 Goat Castration kicked off a night of high-energy songs with a hardcore metal mashup of Iron Maiden’s “Trooper” and Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name.” Audience members bobbed their heads and began to jump and dance together. Partway through the performance, the mic of lead singer Dawsen Mercer ’26 cut out, but the band continued, and the screams of the audience more than made up for it. At the end of their song, band members threw articles of clothing into the audience — I’m pretty sure I saw a huge pair of white underwear — with the band name in black ink, surrounded by splotches of fake blood. 

Next up was seamore, who performed half of “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind before abruptly stopping to announce that another technical issue had occured: The drum cover had broken. After a few minutes of support from Horn crew members and raucous audience encouragement, seamore restarted, and the crowd sang along to those famous “do do do”s. 

 As Goat Castration and seamore band members wove through the crowd and congratulated each other on their performances, Victor took the stage and sang an upbeat cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone.” The vocals of lead singer LJ Cavenaugh ’26 rang out on the bustling Horn dance floor, and audience members joined in, belting the chorus, “Since you’ve been gone / I can breathe for the first time.” After Victor’s song, Redford performed “There She Goes” by the La’s, a piece that audience members danced and sang along to. Toward the end of the song, lead guitarist Abdullah Sajid Ismail ’28 executed a flawless guitar solo that cemented Redford’s performance as one of the most electric of the night.

 Major Groove performed an energetic cover of All Time Low’s iconic “Dear Maria, Count Me In.” As guitarist Morgan Boone ’27 shredded along to the song, the audience screamed the lyrics. After the performance concluded, another band, Jenny Neutch, set up to the sound of audience members chanting its name. “We are Jenny Neutch!” the band declared, before diving into a dynamic rendition of Wet Leg’s “Wet Dream.” (Thank you for providing the song title, fellow audience member!) One of the key moments of the piece happened when the band suddenly went quiet near the end of the song before crescendoing and ending with a bang as they danced on the stage. 

Peggy Jam was up next. Before the show began, keyboardist Daisy Lerner ’27 expressed their excitement for the event to the Collegian. “I used to feel nervous, but I’m going to be honest, I feel pretty locked in on my part,” Lerner explained. “I’ve never played at the Horn, but I love Horn shows and I love my friends that I’m in a band with. … I’m excited for everyone!” On the Horn stage, Lerner’s love for music and adoration for their friends shone through. Peggy Jam performed Steely Dan’s “Peg,” featuring a flawless trumpet solo from Charles Bratton ’27. The next band, Marble Hill, jumped straight into Weezer’s “Pink Triangle” and had everyone singing along to that famous chorus line, “I’m dumb, she’s a lesbian / I thought I had found the one.”

Blueberry Jam Collective closed out the night. As they played, a clear guitar tone electrified a cover of “Black Magic Woman” by Santana. Audience members cheered as the band rolled into The Black Crowes’ “Hard to Handle.”

 After this last performance, Horn crew members directed the audience to QR codes around the space so everyone could scan and vote for one band. After a seven-minute voting period, the top three winners were announced: Blueberry Jam Collective came in third place, Victor came in second and Redford claimed the top spot.

 Chaos abounded, but I was luckily able to speak with a few band members after their wins. “We’ve been a band since the second week of college freshman year, and we’ve always wanted to do this,” Victor’s bassist, Liv Stripling ’26, exclaimed as friends came up to hug her during her interview with the Collegian. “I think this is the best Battle of the Bands we’ve ever had, and I’m just really proud of everyone who worked on this event.”

 Finn Alexander ’26 of Redford shared similar feelings. “Oh my God, I’m ecstatic!” he yelled. “I can’t wait to play on stage with my friends. … The performance was amazing. I have to shout out Abdullah — I think he was the reason we won! He just turned up for his solo and it was just so beautiful. … This is my first time winning anything like this, and it’s going to be my first time [performing] at Sendoff!” 

From band members dancing in the wings before and after performing to the whimsical snowfall outside, Battle of the Bands was filled with great music and connection between students. Make sure to look out for some amazing performances from Blueberry Jam Collective, Victor and Redford at Summer Sendoff at the end of the semester!