The Saturday afternoon of April 29th was cloudy and slightly cold. It was perhaps not the most interesting day for the majority of people in Minneapolis. However, at South High, a historical event was taking place.

On South High’s field a stage was being set. Food was being cooked. T-shirts were hung. And a ticket booth was placed where two smiling faces waited for guests to arrive. One of those people is Nadine Stodolka, proud member of the student council and creator of South’s very first annual Battle of the Bands.

This has been Stodolka’s dream for a while now. She’d seen battle of the bands in movies and thought they seemed like a lot of fun. “I know that a lot of other people are in bands and it would be a really good opportunity for them to get some recognition for what they are doing. I know they put in a lot of hard work, but they don’t really have any student groups that give them an opportunity to show what they are doing,” Stodolka explained.

Meanwhile people from the South community started to fill in the bleachers and set up their lawn chairs and blankets. There were friends, family, and intrigued music devotees. Kieran Panning-Miller, vocalist and guitarist for one of the performing bands called Under The Weather, said that “just waiting for the show to start” was the worst part.

Once the performance actually began was when the fun started. The first band that played was Cabin 10. The band had been together for almost two years and eased everyone into the event with their bubbly pop punk sound. Hitting it off with The Hell Song by Sum 41, then moving on to some love related songs. A few groups of people in the crowd seemed really into it while others looked kind of bored.

After that the rein of metal began. With the band Electric Lizard playing songs Dopethrone, Vinum Sabbathi, and Funeralopolis covers by Electric Wizard. Almost immediately the group of people that were enjoying Cabin 10 seemed to replace the bored ones and the group that was bored suddenly started out rock out.

Drummer, Owen Guindon, from Cabin 10 said that he “liked the variety of music. I think there was a lot of different genres.” Many members from other performing bands said something similar after the show. “Seeing the other bands play. Seeing what other music people were making other than ours, and seeing how different it was,” was Antoine Ferguson’s, vocalist for the Nightstones, favorite part.

Another metal band called TV Y-7 played next. The band has been together for five years, that’s longer than any other band that performed. “It’s fun learning how to play instruments, playing together, and playing crowds to see people’s reactions” said Daniel Ballman the drummer of TV Y-7. All members had been friends since kindergarten. TV Y-7 showed that strong connection on stage.

At this point people became more comfortable with the event so the conversations and movement started to increase. Stodolka started to remind everyone that there was food and T-shirts to be bought. A child was off to the side doing cartwheels and a group of friends started to shout and headbang.

The band Under The Weather then took the stage. They created the band for the South High talent show and ended up sticking together. “I like playing music, and it’s kind of boring playing music without other people,” said Panning-Miller. Under The Weather played alternative and punk to slightly lighten the mood for those who had begun to lose interest, but also still keep the rockers rocking. Then ‘BOOM’ right back into metal with another new band, Misery Of Flight. This was Misery Of Flight’s very first show ever. Zack Anderson, does vocals and guitar for the band, he decided to form the band last December, however he’s wanted to be in one since tenth grade. “As my first show I have to reflect. It was so positive,” he said. “Honestly it’s the most I’ve felt at home at South. Ever.”

Once those performances finished it was time for the last band of the day, the Nightstones. Throughout Battle of the Bands a few band member have shouted out the Nightstones. So many viewers were left in anticipation. Especially when one of the strings broke on a guitar and they had to find a new guitar in order to play. Despite the minor delay the Nightstones went on stage and played their alternative music.

After being in the cold under the grey sky many people left once the performances were done and they didn’t stick around to see who won. Those who waited till the very end voted on who was the best band. The results were second place Cabin 10 and first place Nightstones.

Since they won they played another song. Everyone was welcomed closer to the stage, so it was less like an event and more like a concert. Everyone huddled around the small stage to cheer them on. Once they finished their song people kept praising so they had an encore.

When Nightstone vocalist Ferguson was asked about the show he kept rambling saying, “I thought it was great. It was so much fun. It was really fun. It was great.” Followed by, “We thought it was our best show in a really long time.”

All the joy that was created over the bond of music was powerful. Unknown bands were put in the spotlight to have their moment to shine. The audience was exposed to new communities at South. Overall the first annual South High battle of the bands was a success that South High will remember for years to come.