Java Review: Petite League Hits a Homerun

Laurentian weekend’s Melonfest ended with a home-run performance by the low-fi power pop band Petite League, a New York City-based band that originally hails from Syracuse, New York. 

The Java crowd was sparse as Petite League took the stage, but that was about to change. After a few songs and encouragement from the band, Java Barn started to fill with enthusiastic listeners. Band members quickly responded to the crowd’s song request for the upbeat “Sun Dogs” and humored the audience by donning SpongeBob glasses and a straw hat — two gifts graciously thrown to the performers by St. Lawrence University students.  

Despite being 5 foot 2 inches, Katie Suddaby ’26 was not allowed to join Petite League, even with her friends’ desperate pleas to the bandmates. “I thought the music was a little above average,” Suddaby said, emphasizing that the stage work set Petite League apart from other Java bands.  

Amid the excitement, the band unveiled their newest song, “Sugar Hotel,” a new release from the day prior to their Java performance. This musical gem, though slightly different from their usual repertoire, was an instant hit with both the Java crowd. “Sugar Hotel” is the second song released on what the band calls “Song a Month EP.” For the rest of 2023, Petite League will release one song per month, amounting to five new singles. Unfortunately for the Java crowd, the first release on the EP “East River Swimmer” — a personal favorite of mine — was left off the setlist.  

Lead singer Lorenzo Gillis Cook started Petite League alongside drummer Henry Schoonmaker while students at Syracuse University. Cook has been releasing music for most of his life, performing under the moniker Spark Alaska prior to Petite League. While at Syracuse, Cook and Schoonmaker established an off-campus DIY venue, The Scarier Dome, which booked up-and-coming bands such as Surf Rock is Dead, Free Cake for Every Creature, Palehound and Pinegrove. The band’s earlier DIY days shine through in many of Petite League’s lyrics, reflecting on past and present music scenes. 

Petite League completed a two-month tour across the United States this past May. I was lucky enough to attend their Comet Ping Pong show while studying off-campus in Washington, D.C., at the same venue where the pizzagate conspiracy theory took place. Their Washington show gave me a taste of Java that I desperately missed while off-campus. To see them a second time at Java among the Laurentian Weekend crowd was an even bigger treat. At Melonfest, the band performed their longest set list to date. When it came time for intermission, the crowd quickly cheered on Petite League, and the band kept playing.  

Renate Jakobsen ’26 was a primary member encouraging the band to keep playing. “I thought the band was so good that when they said there was going to be an intermission, I absolutely refused,” she said. Jakobsen told Petite League to play one more, and the band listened. “They played the entire set, no break.” 

The band has evolved in sound and feel compared to some of their earlier recordings; Petite League’s live performance took on a rock-heavy feel compared to the hazy-surf sound their recorded songs emanate. The first song I remember hearing from Petite League, “Raspberry Seeds,” is proof of this. Re-recorded two years after its release under the name “Raspberry Vines,” the song matured from the youthful-sounding “Raspberry Seeds.” Cook prefaced Petite League’s performance of the song, saying, “This is a sad one.” I disagree — to me, the song illustrates Petite League’s experience and growth from a DIY college band to the band in its current state.  

Petite League succeeded in creeping its way back into my earbuds, even after their performance ended. Be on the lookout for their new three releases on their “Song a Month EP.” And Java: please book Petite League again, I’m begging you. You don’t need Laurentian weekend to drag me back to campus.