Michael Solano

Michael Solano

Last Saturday, student musicians from Bowdoin, Bates and Colby Colleges gathered across campus for a day-long music festival filled with good music and good vibes. The first ever Colby Bates Bowdoin (CBB) Spring Fest, hosted by the Bowdoin Music Collective (BMC), included three main events throughout the day: “Coffeehouse” performances in Daggett Lounge in Thorne Hall, midday shows in Studzinski Hall and evening concerts in Boody-Johnson House and Macmillan House. The music style varied between events, from chill acoustic performances over brunch to more upbeat rock performances in the night.

Laura Souza ’27, who spearheaded planning for the fest, described the idea behind a day-long event.

“We knew that there are a lot of big student bands on all the campuses that like to play gigs, whether that’s pop or rock or rap or whatever genre they like to do. But we also knew there are a lot of independent student musicians, a lot of acoustic artists who write their own stuff or do covers. But they don’t necessarily have a student band, and we wanted them to have a space to perform too,” Souza said.

Solo guitarist Lionel Yu ’28, who was among the performers for the Coffeehouse event, noted the mellow vibe of the morning performances.

“It felt very casual, but [it] also felt like you’re in a restaurant brunch place, and there’s live music,” Yu said.

Yu played four songs during his set, including “Horizons” by Genesis and “Mood for a Day” by Yes. Souza also performed an original song at the Coffeehouse, titled “My Little Love Song,” as well as performing “Linger” by The Cranberries alongside Tyler Deane ’25.

As the day carried on, the music picked up pace, with songs such as “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, “This Love” by Maroon 5 and “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon performed during the evening concerts.

Jack Chambers ’27, lead singer and guitarist of student-band Kaleidoscope, an indie-rock focused band, commented on the energy in Boody-Johnson House.

“I think, at least for us as a band, it was definitely our best performance we have played so far at Bowdoin. It was just a great vibe. It was really cool, because there were so many students from the other colleges, and so we were at Bowdoin, but it felt like we were in a different place performing because there were so many unfamiliar faces,” Chambers said. “It was just a great vibe overall, very welcoming and friendly. All the bands were telling each other they did a great job, and it was just really cool.”

Chambers’ bandmate, guitarist Whitney Pellegrino ’27, also remarked on the atmosphere of the evening Concerts.

“It was really fun at the band events to just have new faces on campus. I feel like everyone was really excited to be together and be in the space and share a high level of music,” Pellegrino said. “One of our goals [as a band] for this event in particular was to really get into it and move and look like we’re having fun. And I would say that it was really easy to do that because the crowd was so into it and was so excited.”

The event was not only a time for student musicians to gather, but also for students from Bowdoin, Bates and Colby to come together. Yu highlighted how the day sparked a sense of community between all who gathered to appreciate the hard work and talent of their peers.

“It was fun to meet new people. Everyone just loves music and are all very talented musicians. So, it was just good to have this unification to sort of create a greater concentration of ‘musicness’ in people in one given time [and] place,” Yu said.

Souza commented on the positive reception the event has had.

“A lot of the attendees said they loved the fact that it was at Mac and Boody, because they could just leave one concert, go walk over to the next one, then go back to the other one by following the set…. It was different people shuffling in and out of the different spaces and lots of singing along, jumping and dancing. It was really good energy,” Souza said.

Because of the success of the event, plans are already in the works for future renditions of the CBB Music Fest, according to Souza.

“We already put it in the books for next year. I’m abroad in the fall, but I’ll be back on campus for the spring, so I’ll definitely make it happen again. It might be at Bates or Colby, but we really liked it being at Bowdoin because of the set-up of our social house system…. But at one of the other schools it could work out too,” Souza said.