RockYoFace, a showcase of local bands presented by WUSB, took place at the University Cafe on Thursday, Feb. 18. Two bands, The Bellegards and SWIM, were the main event.
Chari Cummings, one of the organizers of the event, helped stage and set up the bands.
Cummings, a junior multidisciplinary studies major, said, “I feel the purpose is to give students a place to go and see live music like it’s free and that is the most important part.”
The night took off with open mic performances.
The open mic part started with J.P. O’Neil, a senior journalism major. He played the guitar and sang his own original songs, including “Die Here” and “What We Are.”
“I’ve been performing open mic since last semester, I transferred in last semester and tonight I wanted to get involved in RockYoFace and it’s really cool what they do,” O’Neil said. “I’ve been performing at the Tabler open mic every Wednesday and I also did a first performance at another jam last semester.”
The open mic continued with Cummings and three of her friends singing a cover of “All Star” from Smash Mouth.
The first band that took the stage after the open mic was The Bellegards. They played their own original songs, such as “Every Other Man” and “Sleeping Beauty.” Their set included songs from their latest album that was released in 2014 called “Perfect Strangers.”
“I looked them up online before because I made a little scene for this so I had to write about them,” Cummings said. “They sounded different online than they did live and watching them is a lot more exciting.”
The indie rock group, SWIM, came on next. They started their performance with a cover of “What I Got” by Sublime.
SWIM included some of their own original work from their latest self-entitled EP, which includes “Shake.”
“I haven’t seen them before, but I have their album,” said Lea Potteiger, a senior mathematics major. “Their album is really good and I think they’re going places.”
People in the crowd started getting loud when SWIM played covers from WALK THE MOON and Bastille.
After each band performed on stage, they had their own stands, where fans could purchase wristbands, T-shirts, CDs and other souvenirs.
Both bands have brought RockYoFace to the next level with their music.
For those of you who want to see more live music, the next RockYoFace event is coming next month with new performances and new surprises.
Justin Cole • Mar 2, 2016 at 2:40 pm
Hey…not to be that guy…but i’m going to be that guy. I’m J.R. O’Neil, not J.P. O’neil…also I performed at Oxfam Jam last semester, not “another jam.” Thanks for the write up though!