Isa Cruz

Isa Cruz

Isa Cruz

Isa Cruz

Last Friday, on Valentine’s Day, two groups kicked off the spring student band scene with performances at the Pub. Far From Juno, a band of juniors, reunited for the first time on stage after three of their members—Reynaldo Fuentez ’26, Annabella Williams ’26 and Courtney Burnett ’26—studied abroad in the fall.

The night began with a performance from Pariah, a metal band consisting of four first years who have been playing together since the fall. This was the band’s first time performing at the Pub, where they played a series of covers amidst a Hello Kitty projection, red streamers, hanging heart cut-outs and a bubble machine.

Maya Funez ’28, the drummer for Pariah, was excited to be a part of a band at Bowdoin and looked to Far From Juno for inspiration.

“It’s just really exciting to be in a band on campus, and I’m really happy I met [the other members of Pariah],” Funez said. “I’m really happy I got to see Far From Juno, too, because I want to experience all the different bands on campus. I think it’s really cool what they’re doing.”

Jacob Goodman ’26, the guitarist for Far From Juno, was impressed by Pariah’s opening performance.

“They exceeded our expectations,” Goodman said. “They played great.”

Pariah is gearing up for Battle of the Bands, a competition in which a variety of student bands come together to compete to open the Ivies Spring Concert.

For Far From Juno, this reuniting concert was especially exciting. Goodman explained how he missed performing with his bandmates while they were away.

“Last semester, I was just waiting, getting excited to get back to it,” Goodman said.

Far From Juno has been together since the members’ first year. The group officially came together after Burnett and Fuentez, who initially had the idea of starting a band, invited lead singer Ainsley Morrison ’26 to audition in the Coleman common room.

“Courtney was like, ‘Well, I’m really looking for a high-energy band,’” Morrison said. “And I was like, ‘Babes, I love being the center of attention, don’t worry.’”

While the group of five were strangers to one another at the start, they soon built trust and formed a close connection and bond over their shared love of performing and music.

The group is known for having a stage presence that often involves the crowd and has grown to develop its own unique energy.

Kanene Nwokeji ’26 has attended Far From Juno’s performances since her first year and is excited to see her peers perform live again.

“It was also nice looking around and seeing all the freshmen who don’t know them and all the upperclassmen who’d been watching them for years,” said Nwokeji. “I feel like the atmosphere was very warm and sweet.”

The band opened in high spirits with “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees and later played one of its favorite songs to perform, “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan. Morrison shouted out the first-year band Pariah, the Pub sound managers for optimal acoustics and Coleman fourth floor, where it all began. Far From Juno ended the night with its original song “Runaway,” with friends singing along for the first time this semester.

The group performed its second and final show of the semester last night at Tonic, as it’s going on a hiatus until next fall while Morrison studies abroad in Germany.

Morrison reflected ahead of the performance.

“I just want us to have a good time,” Morrison said. “And I want it to leave off in a place where we’re like ‘Oh, we can’t wait for senior year to do this again.’”