On March 24, students jumped, moshed, swayed and rocked at the Binghamton Underground Music Presents (BUMP) performance in the University Union Underground Cafe. The student band Mote opened for Pool Kids and Pom Pom Squad, all performing for a lively crowd ready for a night of rock, departing from previous performances that featured bands of electronic and rap genres.

The Student Association Programming Board’s (SAPB) BUMP committee has put on numerous performances for Binghamton University students featuring lesser-known bands of various genres. Such past performances, both in-person and virtual, include Beach Bunny, Mitski, Alice Longyu Gao, LustSickPuppy and others. These free concerts for students offer an opportunity for them to discover new artists and meet people with similar musical tastes.

Abby Muriel, a freshman majoring in psychology, attended the event in the hopes of learning more about the bands themselves.

“It seemed like an interesting event with cool people lined up,” Muriel said. “I wanted to branch out and listen to new music.”

BUMP chair Sean McManus, a senior majoring in Japanese studies, described his role in preparing for the event and how these bands in particular were chosen for the night of rock music.

“I was responsible for finding the artists, reaching out to them, reaching out to the sound team and coordinating,” McManus said. “My roommate put me onto Pool Kids years ago — she found them online and recommended them to me and I’ve been a fan for a few years now. They’re absolutely amazing. Pom Pom Squad was also a friend’s recommendation, so I checked them out last year and really liked their album ‘Death of a Cheerleader.’ I also really wanted to showcase some student talent, so we had a student band open up.”

Mote, a student band taking over BU, started off the night with a bang. Multiple students adorned Mote merch as they walked in the door, ready not only to rock out with their fellow BU students but to support their rise to fame. The crowd jumped, danced, clapped and sang along to the opening act. Ella Kasper, the lead singer of Mote and a freshman majoring in psychology, led the band with confidence as they owned the stage and got the crowd energized for the acts to come.

Kasper said she has a passion for music. She decided to pursue music in 2018 after attending an inspiring musical performance.

“I saw Alvvays in 2018 before I even learned how to play an instrument and I just knew this was something I really wanted to do,” Kasper said.

Mote began playing together in November of 2021 and all of the members met each other here on campus. They have played numerous gigs on and off campus and have gathered a dedicated following of BU students. Their new single ‘You Left’ is out on Spotify now and their next album will be out in April 2022.

Following Mote was an energetic, inspirational band known as Pool Kids. Originating out of Tallahassee, Florida, Pool Kids made the trek to BU for their very first college performance. The band put on a show that had everyone on their feet. They urged the crowd to come closer to the stage and truly let loose. Christine Goodwyne, vocalist and guitarist, even had some inspirational words for the crowd.

“Anyone can fucking do this,” Goodwyne shouted, referring to pursuing music as a career, which received an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the crowd.

Possibly the most exhilarating part of the night came with the Pool Kids urging the crowd to do the “wall of death.” The wall of death is commonly seen at rock and heavy metal concerts, in which the crowd splits in half and runs at each other when prompted to do so by the performers. Andy Anaya, Pool Kids’ guitarist, counted to three and the two halves of the crowd collided as guitars and drums shook the ground under their feet. Bodies slammed as Pool Kids continued to rock the house and absolutely crush their first college performance.

Goodwyne ended the night with another inspiring quote, telling the crowd to “be good to each other, spread positivity and be excellent.” They ended their performance with their song “Borderline.” Goodwyne sang to this slower, more mellow tune, singing the words, “Don’t say you miss me.” After this performance, BU students certainly will miss this band.

The final performance of the night, Pom Pom Squad, was the perfect conclusion to the BUMP event. The crowd kept up its lively energy as Pom Pom Squad performed songs of various styles. The highlight of their portion of the night was when a member of the crowd began to sway to a slower song with their phone flashlight out, spreading to others around them until the entire crowd joined in.

The Pom Pom Squad certainly brought variety to the night. At one point, lead singer Mia Berrin led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to their tour and merch manager, Ryn. The band will also be performing at Lollapalooza in Chicago in July alongside well-known artists such as Metallica, Machine Gun Kelly, Doja Cat and many others.

Mote, Pool Kids and Pom Pom Squad certainly rocked the night for BU students. The support of the crowd was incredible to witness, especially for up-and-coming student band Mote.

McManus says that the next BUMP event is in the works but will occur sometime in mid-April and will have a much different vibe than this one. Any information on future events can be found on @bingsapb on Instagram.

Editor’s note: two members of Mote, Jackson Galati and Chris Graff, were previously affiliated with Pipe Dream. Galati was formerly a News assistant and Graff was an Arts & Culture writer.