Battle of the Bands, the Student Association Programming Board’s annual competition to showcase Binghamton University’s music scene, filled up the University Union Undergrounds on Friday. This year’s winner will open for the Spring Fling headliner.

Nine bands took the stage: PantsOnFire; Ramblers; Firsthand; Boyband; Monarch; Sovereign; Middle Management; Tequila Mockingbird; and Heavy Weather.

“It’s for the band to be able to have a wider audience and to be able to perform on campus for their fellow students,” Michael LoBiondo, SABP’s BUMP chair and a senior double-majoring in Spanish and philosophy, politics and law, said. “Because a lot of them do house shows and house shows are fun, but we want to have a spotlight on campus and because there’s not really too many opportunities for this wide of a reach.”

This year’s Battle of the Bands was a collaboration between SAPB, Late Nite Binghamton and the Food Co-op. Students filled the room to capacity, stopping by a pop-up flea market and photo booth while eagerly awaiting the performances.

The opening act was PantsOnFire, which kicked off the set with an energetic performance of “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne. The crowd danced along and moshed to each song, including covers of “American Idiot” by Green Day and “Misery Business” by Paramore. During PantsOnFire’s cover of “American Idiot,” the crowd screamed along to the line “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda.”

Next was Ramblers, a four-piece alternative band. To a packed crowd, the band performed covers of “Heart of Glass” by Blondie, “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse, “Still into You” by Paramore and “Just a Girl” by No Doubt. The lead singer showcased her powerful vocals and took the time in the middle of the set to shout out the SAPB, Binghamton Sound, Staging and Lighting and the other bands.

Brianna Chan, Ramblers’ drummer and a senior double-majoring in music and biology, told Pipe Dream that the band met through Sound of Binghamton, a student organization that blends music and volunteering to serve the community.

“We wanted to share our passion and love for music with the students of Binghamton and challenge ourselves to put on a good show for everyone,” Chan wrote.

Following the Ramblers was Firsthand, hyping the crowd up with an original before covering “Just” by Radiohead. With impressive guitar solos and alternating vocalists, the band brought an intense energy to the crowd.

“Amazing opportunity, would recommend to any band at BU to get to play, regardless of whether you win or not,” Julian Minerva, Firsthand’s vocalist and guitarist and a junior majoring in English, wrote. “Every band delivered. I got shoved to the floor in the Boyband moshp it and hit my head, but it was all worth it.”

The fourth act, Boyband, started with an original that morphed from serene guitar playing to a heavy, multilayered performance. Wearing matching shirts, the band’s vocalist and guitarist crowd surfed as students moshed in the middle of the Undergrounds.

In an interview with Pipe Dream, members of the SAPB said that events like Battle of the Bands allow students to come together and enjoy talented bands they may not have been familiar with.

“I came for freshman year, coming to Battle of the Bands, being like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t know the school was organizing events like this,’” Atticus Fauci, SAPB’s president of programming and a first-year graduate student studying business administration, said. “It totally opened my views to getting involved in our campus.”

Monarch took to the stage next, bringing an undeniable energy and stage presence. The band opened with a rendition of “Ain’t It Fun” by Paramore, where the audience sang and clapped along through the bridge. After an impressive performance of “Oh! Darling” by The Beatles, Monarch put on a jazzy, soulful duet of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, punctuated by an unexpected saxophone solo by one of the singers that wowed the crowd.

Sovereign, a rock band, performed next, showcasing raspy vocals and impressive guitar playing. After starting with an original, the band played “Enter Sandman” by Metallica as the crowd moshed along to the music.

Next was Middle Management, donned in sweaters and button-ups and taking the stage as the audience chanted the band’s name. Performing original songs and a cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers, the band had a brass section with a trombone, trumpet and saxophone. With jazzy horns and a bass line that reverberated through the room, the audience danced along and clapped in tune with the beat.

“Performing at Battle of the Bands for a full crowd was an awesome experience,” Jackson Ferrara, Middle Management’s drummer and a sophomore majoring in accounting. “I have played shows before, but this one felt different. The competition was super tight this year, and the bands kept the energy high the entire night.”

In the eighth act, Tequila Mockingbird, a band that blends rock, pop and R&B, started with a calm, groovy original song. Next, the band performed “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” by Jimi Hendrix with powerful vocals and a guitar solo where the guitarist played with his tongue. The set ended with a funky rendition of “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd.

Finally, Heavy Weather took the stage, opening with a cover of “This Charming Man” by The Smiths that the audience sang along to. After an upbeat original song, “Still Into You” was performed for the second time of the night, followed by another original.

Vincent Schnell, Heavy Weather’s guitarist and a senior majoring in accounting, said that while the band had performed at last year’s Battle of the Bands, they decided to return to showcase their original music. To him, Battle of the Bands is an opportunity for students to discover new, original bands and the messages they display through music.

“Highlighting any art is important,” Schnell wrote. “The fact that Binghamton has so many artists that are students here with a variety of sounds and textures makes an event like BOTB not just an opportunity to listen to live music on campus, but also to see the community’s take on music and what is truly important to them as well!”

After much deliberation, LoBiondo announced the winners of Battle of the Bands as Middle Management. Middle Management returned to the stage to perform an encore.

“It’s just really important to showcase how much talent there is on campus,” Madison Perdue ‘25, co-concerts chair of SAPB and a first-year graduate student studying business administration, said. “And just giving people the opportunity to showcase that and bringing the community together in the best way possible is just really important in our student life, especially since we don’t have too many musical events too often. It’s giving them this opportunity to showcase their talent and have a great time.”