{"id":88413,"date":"2026-03-09T11:29:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T18:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=88413"},"modified":"2026-03-09T15:48:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T22:48:58","slug":"students-rocked-a-downtown-nightclub-heres-what-battle-of-the-bands-looked-like-up-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/students-rocked-a-downtown-nightclub-heres-what-battle-of-the-bands-looked-like-up-close","title":{"rendered":"Students rocked a downtown nightclub. Here\u2019s what Battle of the Bands looked like up close."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Long Beach high school and middle school students sang, screamed and shredded during the fourth annual Battle of the Bands in the At The Top nightclub on Pine Avenue Saturday afternoon. Organizers gave the Long Beach Post all-access to take photos during the competition, where Bloody America, a metal band with students from Renaissance and Millikan, took first place. Check out the best photos from their set and others’ below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


As the judge\u2019s top pick, Bloody America won $1,000 plus and another $500 as the audience favorite; they plan to put $800 of their winnings into a band fund and distribute the rest to their members. Jezebel<\/a>, a sludge metal band from Renaissance, came in second, and Social Hour finished third. If you missed Saturday, don\u2019t worry, all three top bands will perform at DiPiazza\u2019s on May 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The competition, a fundraiser for Renaissance High School for the Arts, gives students a peek into what it\u2019s like to perform professionally. What started as a humble event for Renaissance students has grown into an event attracting hundreds of audience members who stood shoulder to shoulder to watch the city\u2019s best young talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first year, all area students were invited to participate. This year\u2019s event featured musicians from Renaissance, Wilson, Millikan, Cabrillo and Browning high schools \u2014 as well as Marshall Middle School and homeschool. The ten performance groups represented a wide range of music genres, from hardcore metal to a solo ukulelist, from a DJ to a punk band that inspired a mosh pit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through ticket sales, auctions and sponsorships, event organizers hoped this year\u2019s event would raise $30,000 for Renaissance students, which can be used to purchase equipment, bring in guest speakers and send students on field trips to Warner Bros. and a performing arts road show, said Jeremy Dodgen, a Renaissance parent and one of the organizers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the cash prizes, student winners take home a share of the ticket sales from the May 30 show as well as shared studio time, a chance to record the music they\u2019ve honed for months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloody America, the winning band, praised the crowd\u2019s support. \u201cWe could feel the energy that had been building from all the other bands and let it all spill out when we performed,\u201d they said, calling their show \u201cprobably the best we\u2019ve ever sounded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adelah Rahni, left, and Joaquin Palafox, both from Renaissance High School and the band Jezebel, arrived at the venue with gear in hand for the Battle of the Bands in Long Beach on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Jezebel came in second place in the contest and will perform at Dipiazza’s on May 30, alongside the first and third-place bands. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bands gather in the green room before the competition on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Samuel Ayala, Iaroslav Riabinin, and Jeremiah Yambao from Wilson High School, members of the band Letters for You, warm up backstage. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The band Letters for You takes the stage as the cameras come out during the fourth annual Battle of the Bands in Long Beach on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Aiden Julian, right, gets airborne as he performs with his band AX!D<\/a> from Cabrillo High School. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova. Note: This caption was updated to correct the spelling of AX!D.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Giovani Pulliao, left, and Samuel Ayala watch another band from the side stage as they wait to perform with the band Amelia’s Body. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The crowd gathers around Jasper X as he is on the turntable at the fourth annual Battle of the Bands. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Giovani Pulliao, left, Yvie Jett and Nico Wallen perform with their band Amelia’s Body. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Isaiah DJ, left, Joaquin Palafox, and Benji Scott from the band Jezebel tuned their instruments backstage before performing at Battle of the Bands in Long Beach on March 7, 2026. Jezebel finished in second place and will play at Dipiazza’s on May 30 with the first and third-place bands. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Magnolia Young of the band Social Hour. The band met and formed at Marshall Middle School. The guitar player is still a student there. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Adrian Young, drummer of the band No Doubt, is seen in the crowd supporting his daughter’s band Social Hour at the fourth annual Battle of the Bands in Long Beach on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Magnolia Young and Social Hour fires up a mosh pit. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mahalaya leaves the stage with her ukulele and a big smile after her solo performance at the fourth annual Battle of the Bands in Long Beach on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Mahalaya is homeschooled. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Adelah Rahni from Renaissance High School plays drums with her band Jezebel. Jezebel finished second and will perform at Dipiazza’s on May 30 with the other top bands. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Thomas Medel from Renaissance High School and Abigail S. from Millikan High School sit at the side of the stage while Bloody America sets up for their performance. Both are vocalists for the metal band, which took first place in the fourth annual Battle of the Bands and will perform at Dipiazza’s on May 30, alongside the second- and third-place bands. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Abigail S. from Millikan High School performed on stage with Bloody America. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Thomas Medel from Renaissance High School performs with the metal band Bloody America. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Abigail S. from Millikan High School sits on the stage as she belts out her vocals with the metal band Bloody America. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Isaiah DJ celebrates Jezebel’s second-place win with friends in the green room after the fourth annual Battle of the Bands in Long Beach on March 7, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misstated the day of the show.<\/em> It was also updated to correct the date of the May 30 show.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students won cash prizes and got a taste of what it’s like to perform professionally. They were cool enough to give us all access.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":88415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32366],"tags":[32379],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2771,32368],"class_list":["post-88413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-see","tag-battle-of-the-bands","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88413"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88438,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88413\/revisions\/88438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88413"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=88413"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=88413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}