Christopher Otto, News & Photography Editor

April 1st, 2026

With Rowan and Glassboro’s local music scene continuing to boom, Rowan After Hours (RAH) and Student University Programmers (SUP) once again banded together to present their annual Battle of the Bands competition.

With nine of the hottest local bands going head-to-head, a crowd chock full of eager students, and the chance to open the main stage at this year’s Hollybash on the line, this year’s Battle of the Bands was set to be an electric one.

In addition to bands placing first, second, or third, there was also a “fan-favorite” category where the audience got to choose the headliner of the small stage at Hollybash.

Senior sports communication and media major Owen Colwell, the host of this year’s Battle of the Bands, detailed the criteria that each band would be judged upon: stage presence, originality, sound, and vocals. Each band would be given a score out of 10 for each category. The judges for 2026’s Battle of the Bands included Live Nation marketing specialist and marketing specialist Jim Sutcliffe, Rowan Music Group (RMG) president Steven Feinberg, adjunct music industry professor Brett Kull, writing arts professor Ellen Lewis, and 2025 Battle of the Bands winners Grey Hobbs and Michael Pieczara of Estrogents.

The event kicked off with Calling From Pluto, who had plenty of fans lined up by the front of the stage, ready to hear their performance. In the middle of their set, which included songs such as “Teeth,” “Pluto,” and unreleased track “Fast Fashion,” Calling From Pluto’s charismatic lead vocalist, Amanda Valentina, made a major announcement regarding the band’s imminent future.

“We’re releasing an album on April 17, and all of these songs are going to be on it,” said Valentina.

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