Meet the students behind the sound: 麻豆破解版 Battle of the Bands winners

From late-night dorm room jam sessions, a rained-out show and a misheard lyric, Loose Champagne has proven that great things can come from passion and a little bit of luck.

The will open Saturday for American rapper and record producer Quavo at John Paul Jones Arena. Doors open at 6 p.m., and entry is free for students with a UVA ID. .

Loose Champagne, a six-member band, is made up of fourth-year students Dana Sun, Raghav Vasudeva and Isabel Xiao and third-year students Isabella Rodriguez, Miles Miskill and Calista Nelson. The musicians found each other through a series of shared classes, mutual friends and a rainout at a University Records show.

鈥淚 think part of it is luck, having chemistry like that. It feels like we鈥檙e pouring parts of all our differences together to get the sound we get,鈥 Nelson said.

Nelson and Rodriguez were roommates during their first years. 鈥淓arly on, I said, 鈥業t鈥檇 be so insane to be in a band together,鈥欌 Nelson said.

Miles Miskill, Isabel Xiao, Raghav Vasudeva, Dana Sun, Isabella Rodriguez and Calista Nelson performing at the battle of the bands

Loose Champagne takes the stage at the annual Battle of the Bands competition. 鈥淲e came in humble to this Battle of the Bands. We were happy to play these sets,鈥 Nelson said. (Contributed photo)

Their first practices were in small bedrooms and fraternity house basements. 鈥淲e played the first show and thought it might be a one-time thing because everyone was busy,鈥 Rodriguez said.

When it came time to register for Battle of the Bands, a mutual friend recommended they enter. 鈥淲e came in humble to this Battle of the Bands. We were happy to play these sets,鈥 Nelson said. The band had also played in last year鈥檚 competition.

鈥淚t is a 鈥榖attle,鈥 but what stuck out to me really was the supportive band community,鈥 Rodriguez said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all musicians who love to perform and watch each other perform. It was like, 鈥楽omebody鈥檚 got to win, and I hope it鈥檚 you.鈥欌

The band鈥檚 name has an origin story of its own. 鈥淲e were at Isabel鈥檚 place and played 鈥楬eart Don鈥檛 Stand a Chance鈥 by Anderson .Paak,鈥 Sun said.

Nelson, the band鈥檚 lead singer, was nervous to sing solo at first, so the entire band decided to sing the piece together. Instead of 鈥渙oh champagne,鈥 they heard the lyric 鈥渓oose champagne.鈥

Discovery and Innovation: Daily research. Life-changing results.
Discovery and Innovation: Daily research. Life-changing results.

鈥淭hose aren鈥檛 the lyrics, but you鈥檙e onto something,鈥 Sun said.

Several of the band members have a background in music theory. Sun, the band鈥檚 rhythm guitarist, saxophone player and background singer, works as an audio engineer at WTJU 91.1 FM, the University鈥檚 community radio station. Rodriguez, who plays the keyboard, also comes from a jazz background. Both are double-majoring in music.

鈥淓veryone plays their music smart. I鈥檓 the lead vocalist, and something I really appreciated about being in this group is that we are all different,鈥 Nelson said. 鈥淲e share different things, and that鈥檚 what makes it so beautiful to have our music come together.鈥

The group draws inspiration from artists like Erykah Badu and D鈥橝ngelo. 鈥淲e mainly do soul, funk and R&B,鈥 Nelson said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been able to build an understanding of why music is important and what makes a song special.鈥

They鈥檝e also found inspiration from other UVA bands, like Swamp Street.

鈥淚鈥檝e had people come up to me and say they hadn鈥檛 come to house shows before seeing Loose Champagne play,鈥 Nelson said. 鈥淲e take that with a lot of pride and appreciation. The community matters to us, and they make us who we are.鈥

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