“This is the end.” The fan favorite band, “A-Line”, started their semi-finals performance with this ironic line. It wasn’t the end of their performance that night, nor the end of their journey this year in Northwestern College and Dordt University’s annual battle of the bands, NC/DC. This iconic line from Adele’s song “Skyfall” was just the start of an amazing performance that would stay in the audience’s minds long after the final notes rang.
“A-Line” is a newly founded band on the NC/DC stage with many experienced members. Mary Britten, the award-winning vocalist who won NC/DC last year with the band Second Rate Sound, leads the vocals of “A-Line”. Her younger sister, Aubrey Britten, also leads the band with her top-notch vocals. “It has been cool to see the onstage interaction between Mary and her freshman sister, Aubrey.” One member of the band commented on the sisters dynamic in the band. “They both have a lot of talent, and their vocals are certainly a prominent feature of our band.” The two lead the band well, and they are often supported by vocals from their instrumentalists. Something that makes A-Line stand out is the fact that every member can, and will, sing on stage, whether in a supporting or leading role.
Another experienced member of the band is their pianist, Jacob Rietveld. Rietveld played piano and even rapped last year for “Second Rate Sound”. This year, he shocked us all with his trombone solo in the semifinal performance. Rietveld isn’t the only multi-instrumentalist in the band. Many of the members can, and will, play many different instruments during performances. This allows A-Line to branch out more and take risks. With eleven members in the band, you never know what to expect when they step on stage.
The final experienced member in the group is Ashton Hughes, the drummer. He also won NC/DC last year in “Second Rate Sound”. He’s brought back his solid drumming skills, and potentially even some more vocals, to help advance his new band into the finals.
The newer members of the band support it well. The band usually has three guitars on stage. Andrew Harper plays acoustic, Allison Sjaarda covers bass and Gerrit Wolbrink shreds on electric guitar. Harper helped lead vocals for the auditions, while Sjaarda and Wolbrink are known for their electrifying stage presence. The other support system in the band is the brass and woodwind section. Jack Birkland, Casey Spainhower, Maleah Wessels and Katie TeStrotte play trumpets, saxophones or whatever else the band needs to give it that little extra spark. “We as a team will always love our ‘surprises’ and our entertaining show ideas!” Rietveld said. The different instruments are fun to have on stage and keep the audience guessing about what could possibly happen next.
With a band like “A-Line”, you never quite know what to expect. At finals on Nov 22nd, the band will be playing two songs of their choice, and one song in the designated category of “Disney.” Although the band didn’t share their exact plans for finals, they did share how excited they were. “We were so excited to do a Disney song, it was hard to pick just one!” Sjaarda said. But the band was able to solidify an idea. “We had our idea for it just a couple hours after the semis were over.” Hughes said. What could it be? The band started by playing “Shallow” by Lady Gaga at auditions, and followed it up with “Skyfall” by Adele at the semifinals. With eleven possible vocalists, it’s hard to even narrow down ideas for what the song could be. When asking fans of the band what song they thought A-Line might choose to perform, one fan guessed “Circle of Life” from The Lion King because of its unique sounds that only a band like A-Line could reproduce. Another fan guessed “Speechless” from the live-action Aladdin because of its strong female vocals. There’s no doubt that the Britten sisters could rival Naomi Scott’s vocal performance, but no one knows what the band will choose to sing.
This also begs the question, “What other songs will the band select?” Their previous selections have been meaningful, almost moody songs. Both are ballads well-known to most audience members. Maybe they’ll continue with the theme and choose more songs by Adele. “Hello” or “Someone Like You” are both Adele songs that could be done well by “A-Line”. They could also branch out and choose a ballad by a new artist. Fans will know soon enough when they step on the stage at finals on Nov. 22nd.
