SOUNDCHECK: Eve, a Tree, a Shark, and a Dunk

Scene

Mar 6

Colin Friedel ’26 sings alongside audience members who rushed the stage after Dunk invited them onto the stage for their rendition of Zach Bryan’s “Revival.” **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Students gathered at the Basecamp house on Friday, Feb. 27, to hear four bands perform at The Stereo Underground’s Bandcamp—including one making its debut.

Eve Wiley opened the night with ’90s-influenced performances of “Californication” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Reptilia” by The Strokes and “Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead.

They were followed by Christmas Tree, making its debut performance as a band led by Solace’s Adi Ranganathan ’27 and Luke Carlson ’27. Frontman Palmer Hightower ’27 also took the Bandcamp stage for the first time this year.

Shark Week came on third, leading with groovy pieces like “What Once Was” by Her’s and “Feel Good Inc.” by Gorillaz. They also weren’t afraid to turn up the intensity, hyping the crowd with “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers and “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine.

Dunk headlined the night with classic country covers, returning to the stage following their recent Dunkfest performance. They closed out the show by inviting the audience onstage for “Revival” by Zach Bryan, turning the finale into a crowd-wide performance.

For the first time, all of the Bandcamp excitement was broadcast live on KSCU, Santa Clara University’s student-run radio station.

The audience during Dunk’s set. (Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)

Palmer Hightower ’27 belts during Christmas Tree’s debut set. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

The Logistics

Eve Wiley included Adrian Vidthiyani ’27 as lead vocalist and guitarist, Sophie Saur ’28 on vocals and bass, Josh Carrasco ’28 on guitar and Hayes Averill ’27 on drums.

Christmas Tree consisted of Ranganathan on drums, Carlson on bass and Hightower on guitar and vocals.

Shark Week took the stage with Averill on vocals, Grant Swanson ’26 on bass, Alex Blackwell ’26 on guitar, Vir Thakkar ’28 on drums, and Pranav Bhargava ’27 as a guest keyboardist.

Dunk brought together Colin Friedel ’26 and Eph Esson ’26 on guitar, Orion Cook ’26 on violin, Brix Brewster ’27 on drums, Maliah McKenna ’29 as lead vocalist and Ewan Bailey ’29 on bass.