The Envoy

By: Cassidy LaPointe and Aarsh Chauhan

Where Hunter College Speaks Radio station organized a “Battle of Bands” in the Thomas Hunter Game Room on Mar. 29. The station invited local bands from the city to deliver their biggest hits, drawing swathes of rock aficionados until late hours.

For its planners, the concert series hails as one of the major post-COVID events. 

“The radio was pretty much dormant for the past couple of years,” said Stella Chu, the radio’s general manager. “We’re looking to showcase local music and have people connected to their community through music, which is always great.”

Chu (right) and her team’s inspiration behind the event was to deliver a rock concert accessible to all students. 

“If you go to a live show, it’s 21 plus, the tickets are expensive, and it’s inaccessible a lot of times,” Chu said.

The costs of attending any live music concert soared last year, with the ticket price of a Bruce Springsteen concert costing as high as $5,000.

The battle began with Brooklyn-based The Flag That Burns delivering some of their iconic songs, immediately stirring a wave of joy among spectators. The guitarists even joined the crowd to dance on a roaring metallic rhythm.

Although competitive, the event offered some bands like Borrasca a venue to perform their first-ever live concert. Led by John Quavis III (left), the band specializes in grunge rock and came to know about the event through their companion Alonso, who is a Hunter alumnus.

Meanwhile, some bands such as No Call No Show, a metallic rock group also capitalized on the concert to promote their upcoming shows and albums.

However, it was 2/14 emerging as the show stealer, snagging the first-place title in a highly energetic contest that grabbed the attention of more than 50 students. Described as a blend of pop, alternative and emo rock, the band released their debut album “Adriennes Garden” in 2023, which has garnered up to 50,000 streams on platforms such as Spotify.

They were followed by gothic-rock band Miss Teen America (second-place), founded by the band’s bassist Vic Vermin (bottom right) and Hunter student TJ Coffino (bottom left). The band is known for producing singles such as “Savior” and “Take Me Back,” with the latter gaining almost 11,000 streams on Spotify. Miss Teen America previously performed at Hunter’s Ida K. Lang Recital Hall on Nov. 6.

Trailing in third-place was Faculty, an indie-rock band led by Fordham University students that previously won their own school’s battle of the bands.

Giovanni, a Hunter student who did not give his last name, appreciated the event as he feels there are limited in-person opportunities for music connoisseurs to gather post-pandemic.

“It was great. I really like that it gets us [as a rock community] in one place. Any event that does that is good in my books,” he said.

See all additional photos taken by Cassidy LaPointe here.