Battle of the Bands: Student involvement in Falmouth’s music scene
10 May 2024
Battle of the Bands: Student involvement in Falmouth’s music scene
Hi! I’m Blake and I’m a 1st year Games Development: Programming student. Ever since I was young, I’ve had a passion for programming and making games in general. Beyond coding, I love music, playing a range of instruments as well as a music production course. As well as art, doing things like paintings and craft fairs.
My experience in Falmouth
The beautiful thing about Falmouth is you meet people doing all sorts of stuff. I’ve been so lucky to meet so many different people, including people in bands.
This has led me to explore music venues in Falmouth that I wasn't aware of before moving, such as Fives Below, UpperDeck, the Killigrew inn, Chintz, and the Cornish bank.
The Cornish Bank
The Cornish bank is a venue in Falmouth that holds a range of different events nearly every day of the week. They recently held Wanderfal, a music festival that connects surrounding venues to show 30+ bands across the 2 days its held.
On the 25th of April, they hosted a Battle of the Bands, organised by Amplify Falmouth who teamed up with students from the University’s 3rd year Creative Events Management BA course, where upcoming bands can compete on The Cornish Bank’s stage.
The Razz and the Rose
The first band on stage was the Razz and the Rose, a 5-piece “Con-Fusion” band, keeping the audience on their toes by mixing genres such as jazz, rock, and musical theatre. Their own song “Strange” is a beautiful love story between two different people, yet they find their differences charming rather than strange. Sung beautifully between Jenna and Noah. With Jude’s electric energy on the drums and Max’s smooth bass, it had the audience watching in awe.
To close off their performance, they did a wonderful, upbeat cover of “Smile” by Lily Allen, which had the crowd grooving along. With Dylan’s funky riffs as he leans back onto the crowd, they really knew how to put on a show.
“The music scene down here in Falmouth is genuinely incredible. There's never-ending shows and opportunities to perform, and every single musician and band we've met has just been lovely and welcoming.
… despite being pitted against our competition at "Battle of the Bands" we all just grew so much closer through the experience and made even deeper friendships. We all want to see each other thrive, there's no bad blood, and that is such a gift”.
Petra
Soon after Petra took the stage, a 5-piece rock band. Petra has everything you want to see in a rock concert, mosh pits, crowd surfing, and Olly, their bassist, throwing his jacket to the eager crowd. They opened with a cover of Skyfall by Adele, as Ellie’s vocals and piano playing resonated throughout the venue.
They played their original song “Black Ice”, and it’s one of my favourites. When I wasn’t swept into one of the many mosh pits happening during the song, I could hear dedicated fans singing along to their chorus. With Josh’s passionate drum playing, Ben’s wicked riffs, Harry’s amazing guitar, and Ellie’s powerful vocals, it was a performance for people to remember. It was no surprise when they were announced as the winners.
“Moving to Falmouth to pursue music was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Falmouth is rich in culture with a tight-knit community of musicians and artists, with plenty of connections outside of Cornwall if you know where to look.
Falmouth is certainly one of the most underrated universities in the UK for musicians, and the vibrant culture of this town will blow you away.
Driftwood
Driftwood is a more established band in Falmouth, as you can see in their stage presence, and crowd interactions that had everyone hooked, this is the classic indie rock band you’d want to see. Furthermore, they won a previous battle of the bands they did back in February, showing they’d be tough competition.
They did an amazing cover of “Stacy’s mom”, an absolute gem of a song, and that really reflected in the crowd’s energy as everyone danced and sang along. With Blake’s thrilling drum playing and Chris’ smooth bass, it was a performance to remember.
Hedrott
Hedrott is a hard rock band with grunge influences that will blow you away. This is their second show of their's that I’ve seen, and I continue to be amazed. They sang their original song “Run the River”, and Maddie’s vocals absolutely blew me away. The energy and passion she put into her singing is electric and had the crowd in awe. As Dylan crowd surfs and Maddie takes over guitar,
For their final cover, they transformed a R&B classic “You sexy Thing” by Hot chocolate into a rocking jam. Despite it not initially being their typical genre, they absolutely nailed it.
“The Falmouth music scene is fresh & supportive, welcoming new artists, whilst cultivating a lively atmosphere all year round. We are extremely lucky to have AMATA to help support students, both through their lending department as well as providing amazing facilities for bands to practice in.”
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