Instruments are being tuned and voices are warming up for one of the students’ favorite events at Northwestern College. NC/DC, originally named to stand for Northwestern College and Dordt College, is a battle of the bands to see who’s got the most talented musicians.
After suffering defeat last year to one of Dordt’s bands, NW is prepared to come out on top this year. NW has an impressive 49 students participating in this year’s competition. These individuals have created bands that are sure to break through the Defender’s front lines at the semifinal competition on Nov 11, but not all of them will get a shot to take on some Dordt Defenders. They must first get through a round of preliminaries on Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
The NW bands will go head to head and the top five will advance to compete against Dordt’s top five bands in the semifinals. After the votes are in from that round the top three bands will move on to the finals on Nov. 18. That night a new champion of the annual NC/DC will be crowned.
One NW band that is excited to get started is the Just Jazz Combo. They have been practicing different songs to find the perfect selection and have enjoyed every minute of it. One member of the group, Brandon Englin, commented, “Sometimes things happen on accident, and it turns out better than we had planned! That’s why, for us, it’s just jazz.” Other bands have had similar experiences as they work together to perfect a piece of music for the competition. They have selected songs that are sure to take down our rivals at Dordt.
Not only do the bands have a blast performing for the audience, but the audience has a blast watching the whole show. “My experience in the crowd was an emotional rollercoaster,” NW sophomore Ashlyn Zomermaan said about last year’s competition. “The laughter, screaming, crying and smiling gave you a thrill and excitement like no other.”
There is a little something for everyone at this fan-favorite event, and that is because it’s open for any NW or Dordt student to audition. You do not even need to be a part of the performing arts at either college. All you need is a love for music and a song to perform. You do not even need a group of people to play with because solo acts can audition too. It is, of course, encouraged to have a group because the community is a part of the fun of the event.
If this is something that interests you, keep it in mind to audition next year. But for this year, go support the NW Raider bands at all levels of competition. Good luck, Raiders!
The performers include Sophonise Nielson, Jef-David Meribole, Princess Bola-Lawal, Shion Lee, Ryota Ishizaki, Megumi Tomita, Kazuki, Tomita Hyunseo, Gavin Higgins, Isaiah Hollinger, Ryder Compton, Lane Johnson, Anna Brandt, Hope Wallace, Adriana Sandbulte, Jessica Nibbelink, Ben Geary, Ethan Blauw, Alyssa Glanz, Abigail Tilberg, Blake Johnson, Nathan Jensen, Dustin Groen, Lucas Rausenberger, Samantha Vermeer, Gabrielle Johnson, Roman Coates, Josiah Troutner, Brandon Englin, Angel Skippings, Elena Lee, Olivia Lott, Aydin Chhet, Isaiah Currie, Jackson Nemmers, Elijah Weaver, Thomas Vance, Clara Pahl, Sarah Hummel, Ashton Hughes, Lizzie Linser, Mary Britten, Gabrielle Obannon, Emily Kraft, Hannah Vanden Burge, Mary Walnofer, Abigail Martinson, Jenesis Calkins, Emma Hansen and Emily Herzog.
