The bands behind Scope’s Battle of the Bands

With a rhythmic flow and clever bars over a wide variation of beats, Ahzia Hester kicked off the night with a hip-hop solo act. The Davenport local has been making music and writing rap songs for around three and a half years, starting in his senior year in high school. “A lot of the time, I think what I found is I start with instrumentals, and then that kind of sets the tone,” he said. “So, it...

Loci, a two-man unit consisting of drummer Ace Aclaro and guitarist and lead-vocalist Quinn Miller took the stage second, bringing in indie rock vibes. While their music waded into moody rock, the sheer joy rolling off of Aclero on the drums kept heavy moments from growing too dark. The duo initially met in jazz band in high school and then decided to start jamming together, sticking together for...

Opening with a splash of bluesy angst, three-piece rock group Near Misses, the second-place winners of Battle of the Bands, opened with “Into the Sea.” The song that dances over genres is about front man Will Hancock’s engagement to his fiancé. “And I went upstairs on my guitar and tried to like, kind of hash it out, play it,” Hancock said. “I had this recording going of that sequenc...

Dog Dave successfully clinched the victory in the Battle of the Bands, having kicked off their set with vocalist Adelina Reels shredding her vocals in a gritty and lively cover of “Helter Skelter.” She then slid seamlessly into another energetic song with drummer John Quijas, clad in a flaming button up shirt reminiscent of Guy Fieri. Reels described their sound as a mix of folk and grunge, wi...

3 in the AM wrapped the night up with an upbeat musical mix. It was on the third song, “That’s Decent,” when the group really came alive with a nice bass and fun bars. The trio consists of Yassine Filali, Mohammed Shaban, and SE!F, friends from high school who have been creating beats and rhymes since their senior year. “The first song we ever made was for [Filali’s] birthday. Like he ...