For four years now the Student Government Association has hosted the Battle of the Bands competition for student-run bands to not only highlight the local music scene, but also raise funds for the Joe Espy SGA Scholarship.
Among the final four competitors is Warriors Bend, an up-and-coming voice in the Tuscaloosa music scene.
The band is comprised of five sophomore friends: lead singer Nate Arentsen, a mechanical engineering major; lead guitarist Luke Jordan, a kinesiology major; keyboardist David Brett, a computer science major; bassist William Hall, a finance major; and drummer Alston Murphy, an economics and biology major.
The name Warriors Bend draws inspiration from the Black Warrior River that runs through Tuscaloosa.
“We wanted it to be Tuscaloosa name-based, so we had ‘Warrior’ and kind of just made up things that went with it,” Murphy said.
Warriors Bend covers songs from a variety of artists and groups including Widespread Panic, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.
“We play a good variety,” Murphy said. “We’re more of a blues and Southern rock band.”
The band particularly enjoys the inviting, carefree atmosphere of performing live music.
“I think it’s really cool when five people who all play different instruments and have different talents can all come together and make something that’s incorporating everything,” Jordan said.
Since forming their group last winter, they have seen enormous improvements in their technical and performance skills.
“We sound almost unrecognizable from then until now,” Jordan said.
With the Battle of the Bands being only their third show, they look forward to collaborating with each other to put a unique spin on well-loved songs.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to get our name out there more because we’re just starting out,” Arentsen said. “We haven’t really played in front of that many people, and it’s a great opportunity.”
The band will be performing live at the Battle of the Bands on Saturday at Druid City Social, where there will be performances by other groups, a livestream of the football game versus Missouri, food trucks and more.
