On Thursday, Titan Underground hosted the largest Battle of the Bands lineup UW Oshkosh has seen in the last five years.

Following a random drawing to decide the performance order for the night, seven bands took the Underground stage to sing, play and dance for the crowd and panel of judges.

Junior Zachary Mayer opened the night with a set infused with smooth vocals and keyboard playing, accompanied by some R&B beats.

Mayer was the only R&B/Pop performer as well as the only solo performer of the night.

Mayer said he draws influences from multiple genres such as pop, alternative and hip-hop.

“My biggest influence has to be a band named LANY, which I actually did a cover of their song ‘ILYSB’ tonight,” Mayer said. “Their modern ‘80s type music is something I really love.”

Mayer closed out his set with an original song called “Here to Stay.”

“My favorite part of performing tonight was being able to show people what I have,” Mayer said. “I’ve been really eager to perform and put out my music, and it’s great to be in an atmosphere where people are interested in my music.”

Following bands included Why Not Let It Fly, Eminence, Diet Lite, Happy To Be Here, Shield The Survivors and Paragon.

The crowd favorite of the night seemed to be the ferocious all-female, hard-rocking band Eminence.

Eminence features four members, three of which are UW Oshkosh students’ drummer Caitlin Sweeney, bassist Alex Stricker and guitarist Molly Marie, while lead singer Mikayla Nicole attends Appleton East High School.

The group played a mix of covers and originals, but seemed to get everyone’s attention as they shredded through a cover of the classic AC/DC song “Thunderstruck.”

Eminence seemed to own the stage, making it clear it wasn’t their first rodeo, having won the Les Paul Competition, playing Summerfest, and opening for larger bands such as Kansas and Tonic.

Marie, who has been a member of the band for six years, expressed how unique performing life is to her.

“There’s so much stress with school, and it’s a great way to relieve that stress,” Marie said. “Now that we’re writing our own music, I can just put my heart into it.”

The night’s performers all had their own unique story about them. Five of the seven bands made their Battle of the Band’s debut this year, while the band Diet Lite formed specifically to play this event.

After attending the last few years of the event, junior Bryan Jean said this year’s lineup was unexpectedly diverse.

“I’ve come to Battle of the Bands the past two years to support my two friends in the band Happy To Be Here,” Jean said. “It was surprising to see the diversity in music genres compared to last year’s show. This year there was obviously rock, but also some metal, pop and hip hop.”

As the night came to an end, the judges finished tallying up their scores for the night.

Third place went to the rock group Paragon, second place to the female rockers, Eminence, while the metalcore quintet Shield the Survivors took home the Battle of the Bands title.

After playing in Battle of the Band’s three separate years, Shield the Survivors bassist Cody Shaw was ecstatic to finally win the event, but even more grateful for those that made the night so special.

“Huge thank you to UW Oshkosh and Reeve Union Board for putting on the event,” Shaw said. “And as always, thanks to all who came out in support of local bands and local music!”