Northwestern Student Activities Council has paired with Dordt to bring back a beloved tradition that brings together students from the rival Sioux County colleges. Like American Idol, NCDC, an abbreviation for Northwestern College and formerly, Dordt College, is a musical competition where the best talent from both Dordt and NW go head-to-head.
This competition brings a new layer to the long-time rivalry between the two schools, going beyond athletics and academics. Up for grabs is a $650 cash prize for the winner of the competition, $250 for second place and $100 for third place. The competition is broken up into three rounds: the preliminary round, semifinal and final competition.
The preliminary round was held separately by Dordt and NW and served as an audition. Each school held auditions in which bands or soloists had to perform a song of their choice with their own accompaniment.
NW’s took place at Christ Chapel on Feb. 3. Four NW bands and one soloist moved from the prelims to the semifinals. This included Just Jazz Combo, Women in Stem & the Other Guys, The Coly Boy Band, Two Days Old and Megumi Tomita. The Dordt groups that surfaced were BN’B, Chopsticks and Soup, Covergirls, Mashed Potatoes, Paraless and South Hall.
These groups all advanced to the semifinal round, which was hosted by Dordt on Feb. 11. The bands faced off to showcase their talents, and fans from both colleges attended to watch the battle. Raider Nation did not disappoint in the semifinal round, showing up and out to support their own.
Bands appealed to the crowd with popular songs that the audience could sing along to. The night’s performances featured the songs “Since You’ve Been Gone,” “Party in the U.S.A.” and “Stacy’s Mom,” among others. There was even a special performance by Dr. Laird Edman, a NW psychology professor, and Dr. Jongerius, a NW math professor. Following the semifinals, student voting took place to select the top three groups from each school to advance to the finals.
From NW, the groups moving on to the final round are The Coly Boy Band, Just Jazz Combo and Women in Stem & The Other Guys. The finalists from Dordt are Chopsticks and Soup, Covergirls and Paraless.
In the final round, the top three finalists from both schools will perform two songs. Each judge will get to vote for their act of choice, which will add 25 votes to that band’s vote tally. This, along with a live audience vote, will determine the top three winners. Fans can come to Christ Chapel on Feb. 17 at 9 p.m. to watch the finals unfold and place their vote for who will be the winner of NCDC 2023.
