On March 3, DU band Exhaler was crowned the winner of DUPB’s Battle of the Bands (BoB), one of the most anticipated events of the year. Two newer bands also made the podium, with Onion as runner up, and folk band Long Way Home placing third. 

Normally, the competition takes place outside on the Nagel Patio, but given the amount of snow Denver received on Friday, the event was moved to the SIE complex. 

A new element of the annual event was DUPB’s partnership with Skintight Outrage, DU’s improv team. Skintight Outrage president Jack Schuchard and vice president Ryan Bouchard were emcees for the night, keeping the audience engaged in between the sets. 

“It was a little bit different to bring the comedy and improv that we know into the setting of a live music competition, so it was nice to get out of our comfort zone and do something a little bit different,” said Schuchard. 

From a successful and impulsive human pyramid to audience trivia to handstand competitions, the emcees kept the energy high as bands set up behind them.

If their onstage shenanigans weren’t enough, Skintight Outrage is hosting their Week 10 show on Wednesday, March 11 in the Lindsay Auditorium, where they’ll be basing some of their skits on movies they’ve recently watched. 

The night kicked off with the 9-piece band called Onion, who just had their debut show last month at The Rug Room. 

Following Onion, solo artist Larissa Olson took the stage. This is the first year DUPB has welcomed solo artists to perform alongside larger bands. In addition to her solo career, Olson is also the lead vocalist for DU band As of Today. 

Folk band Long Way Home competed next, bringing a change of pace to the night. Their set at BoB was one of their first shows, after having recently established themselves as a groovy, folk quartet at their first gig last month. 

Another newer band called Clove was fourth on the lineup. The band consists of Grady Dionne (guitar), Kai Afonja (drums), Thurry Sullivan (vocals) and Bella Kraus (bass). On March 19, they will be joining As of Today, among other bands, for a show at Lost Lake. 

Eye 2 Eye took the stage after Clove. This band featured Shaya Scales (vox), Jeffrey Ossam (guitar), Kate Suchowski (vox), Lauren Weinberg (drums), Will Letheby (keys) and Mary Shaw (bass). The cover band, known for performing a mix of 70s and 90s rock and pop, kept the energy high with a few different covers, wrapping up the set with “Oh! Darling” by The Beatles.

Exhaler finished off the night with a fiery set, playing an original titled “Effigy” which can be found on all streaming platforms, followed by two covers — “Welcome to Hell” by black midi and a classic to end the night, “Fireball.” 

Schuchard, who had a front row seat throughout the night, enjoyed the variety of music the competition brought to the stage. 

“I think all of the bands were fantastic. There was a good mix of music, there was a solo artist, some folk music, some rock. Anyone could’ve won,” said Schuchard. 

Dionne, who played guitar for both Clove and the winning group, has competed with Exhaler all three years they have participated in BoB. The win was especially meaningful, given all six members of the band are graduating in the spring. 

“There was some good competition this year, there always is,” said Dionne. 

Dionne discussed the camaraderie of the music community at DU, recalling that every group was happy for them and congratulated them after the night wrapped up.

“We all value music extremely highly and we value the community extremely highly, and I think everybody is always really supportive of each other both in the band and in other bands around,” he said. 

This annual event gives student musicians an opportunity to showcase their talent in front of a wider student audience, outside of typical concert-goers and music lovers.

“This is one of the few events that get people out to see music who aren’t always in the scene so it’s a cool opportunity to play for an audience that doesn’t necessarily know our music,” said Dionne.

Exhaler will begin preparing for MusicFest, where they will open for Between Friends on May 29. We can expect to hear some songs from their upcoming album “Don’t Wait Up On Me” which will drop on April 14. 

“It’ll be post-release too, so you can learn all the lyrics before the show,” said Dionne.