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.
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

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