Last week, the Java Barn held two watershed shows. On Thursday, rock jam band Underground Springhouse headlined a packed house of inebriated college students. The band jived and shimmied throughout the night, performing one of the Barn’s most unique performances of the year. That uniqueness was also amplified by the show’s opening act, The Edd, an electro-psychedelic jam band. Twas a gleeful night of fruitful oranges and Fender Stratocasters.
Following the double act, Java and the Association for Campus Entertainment hosted their annual Battle of the Bands event to allow students to vote for the Springfest opening act ahead of Grouplove and Sammy Adams. Miner Street Garage Boys opened the event with guitarist Clinton Mills ’24, guitarist Cooper Gibson ’24, and guitarist Sam Goldenberg ’24. The boys played a quadrilogy of contemporary country hits and eventually won, cementing the SLU representatives for Springfest.
Next, The Dooks, forged in the embers of punk outfit The Earl Greys, cemented their place as a definitive SLU band. The group consists of bassist Cole Siebels ’26, drummer John Pollard ’26, guitarist (and writer of this article) Noah Donnellan-Doser ’26, and vocalist/keyboardist EJ Johnson ’26. Many onlookers claim that The Dooks brought the most energetic stage presence of the night.
After, Marcy roared onto stage with a selection of indie and classic rock hits to woo the crowd. The sultry vocals of Henry Baker ’25 complimented the firm bass of Oliver White ’27, while adding to endearing gravity of guitarist Alex Tidd ’25 and the back-beat of drummer Emmit Dayhoof ’26.
Lastly, notable fan favorite Sprawl closed out the night with a mix of moshing, mooching and matrimony. Saxophonist Cara Monteleone ’24 wailed into the night alongside breathtaking vocalist Cati O’Neil ’25. To help the rhythm section, drummer Wesley Wyatt ’24 nailed each snare hit as bassist Malcolm Suarez ’25 hammered in a booming punk powerhouse, all while guitarist Will Rebhahn ’26 crooned like a dreary sailor coasting into the pale night.