From late-night dorm room jam sessions, a rained-out show and a misheard lyric, Loose Champagne has proven that great things can come from passion and a little bit of luck.
The University of Virginia-based band and winners of the University Programs Council’s Battle of the Bands will open Saturday for American rapper and record producer Quavo at John Paul Jones Arena. Doors open at 6 p.m., and entry is free for students with a UVA ID. Tickets are also on sale to the public.
Loose Champagne, a six-member band, is made up of fourth-year students Dana Sun, Raghav Vasudeva and Isabel Xiao and third-year students Isabella Rodriguez, Miles Miskill and Calista Nelson. The musicians found each other through a series of shared classes, mutual friends and a rainout at a University Records show.
“I think part of it is luck, having chemistry like that. It feels like we’re pouring parts of all our differences together to get the sound we get,” Nelson said.
Nelson and Rodriguez were roommates during their first years. “Early on, I said, ‘It’d be so insane to be in a band together,’” Nelson said.
Loose Champagne takes the stage at the annual Battle of the Bands competition. “We came in humble to this Battle of the Bands. We were happy to play these sets,” Nelson said. (Contributed photo)
Their first practices were in small bedrooms and fraternity house basements. “We played the first show and thought it might be a one-time thing because everyone was busy,” Rodriguez said.
When it came time to register for Battle of the Bands, a mutual friend recommended they enter. “We came in humble to this Battle of the Bands. We were happy to play these sets,” Nelson said. The band had also played in last year’s competition.
“It is a ‘battle,’ but what stuck out to me really was the supportive band community,” Rodriguez said. “We’re all musicians who love to perform and watch each other perform. It was like, ‘Somebody’s got to win, and I hope it’s you.’”
The band’s name has an origin story of its own. “We were at Isabel’s place and played ‘Heart Don’t Stand a Chance’ by Anderson .Paak,” Sun said.
Nelson, the band’s lead singer, was nervous to sing solo at first, so the entire band decided to sing the piece together. Instead of “ooh champagne,” they heard the lyric “loose champagne.”
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