Now that spring semester has begun, excitement can start building for the Congress of the South 40’s annual Battle of the Bands and WUStock. For anyone unfamiliar with these events, here’s how they work: CS40 showcases student groups at the Battle of the Bands in February, and the top three artists open for the headlining act of WUStock, CS40’s concert on the Swamp in April. The name of that headliner is also revealed to the student body at the Battle of the Bands.

This year, while that formula will remain much the same, there is one big difference—Battle of the Bands is rebranding as Battle of the Jams.

Jiyoon Kang | Student Life

The Snapchettes, a band that formed before Battle of the Bands 2018, opens for Timeflies at WUStock 2018. The top three bands from Battle of the Jams will get to perform at WUStock.

Sophomore Clarinda Tan, CS40’s competitions chair, said this renaming reflects increasing diversification of the student acts that will compete in the Battle of the Jams.

“We want to expand the competition beyond bands, expand the diversity of the competition,” Tan said. “Any music group on campus, whether you’re a solo artist or a group of students…can apply to perform.”

Though the event has only existed since 2015, Tan says it is constantly changing and updating. In the two years she has worked on the competitions board, she has seen changes from the addition of professors as judges to, most notably, an increase in solo artists interested in performing.

Tan and the rest of the competitions board knew they wanted to celebrate the inclusion of those solo artists, and eventually decided on rebranding the event.

Tan hopes the new name will help the Battle of the Jams as it continues to change and diversify into the future. Though some bands have participated every year, Tan stressed that CS40 wants the participants to continue to evolve.

About this year’s Battle of the Jams, Tan said “I hope that we get a lot of different artists, and that students will come out to Ursa’s!”

This year’s Battle of the Jams will take place at 7 p.m. at Ursa’s Stageside on Feb. 21. Any artists wishing to participate must simply submit a recording of their music to CS40.