KinJia Wong

On Sunday at 8:30 p.m., Jack Magee’s Pub was cloaked in purple light for a performance by Blume, an old-school R&B, rock and pop band of Bowdoin sophomores.

The event was organized as part of First-Year Orientation Week but attracted students across all years. The crowd was electric and hundreds of students swayed to the music from all three levels of the venue.

The band consists of singer Andrew Byron ’29, drummer and guitarist Asa Hamlin ’29, rhythm guitarist Brodie Muyskens ’29, bassist Cris Arias ’29, guitarist and pianist Oscar Martinez Mendoza ’29 and singer and multi-instrumentalist Rosa Slack ’29. It was founded in the fall of 2025 when the group met as first-years and scheduled a casual jam. Their first performance was at the annual Mac-O-Ween Halloween celebration where they opened for Duck, another student band.

Arias said the band was grateful for the opportunity to play as part of Orientation Week.

“We wanted to sound good, and it was our first impression for the Class of 2030,” Arias said. “We knew our friends were gonna come up and support us, and it was just a good way to start off the year.”

Slack said the band was contracted in late July and only had two rehearsals as they were apart during summer break and three members led First-Year Orientation Trips in the days leading up to the concert. Nevertheless, the band played their longest set yet, with 12 songs and an encore totaling an hour and a half of music.

Slack said she was nervous ahead of time but was happy with the performance.

“Once I was on the stage and the lights were on and people started showing up, I started feeling it in my bones,” Slack said. “We’re back.”

Spectators adored the performance, which included songs like “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton and “All Your’n” by Tyler Childers.

It was the second time KinJia Wong ’30 had seen Blume, and he said the experience was “a blast.” He took photos at the event and said he noticed how easily the band members kept the crowd energetic.

“Having taken photos at [Bowdoin] Bearings, I found it amazing, if not even a little bit better,” Wong said.

The band even paused halfway through the set to wish their friend Whittier Henry ’29 a happy birthday. The crowd joined the band in singing for the newly 20-year-old student.

Slack and Arias said fans can likely look forward to another Mac-O-Ween performance in October. The band also hopes to be at the Battle of the Bands competition this coming spring.

“We care about it so much that we get so emotionally caught up in all of it,” Slack said. “It’s nice to be able to take a deep breath and look at people’s smiles. We’re dancing, having a good time.”