THON hosted the Battle of the Bands on Friday night at THON 2023.

The event featured indie rock band Moonroof, hailing from Philadelphia, as well as Walk On Mars, a pop rock band that was formed by a group of students at the Berkeley School of Music.

Moonroof opened the show, getting the opportunity to perform three songs before its competition took the stage. The set opened with an original song, which, even though most didn’t know the lyrics, still had people jumping. Moonroof then got the crowd pumped up with a cover of “As It Was” by Harry Styles — a familiar favorite. The band then finished out its set with its original song, “I’d Rather Be Alone.”

Walk On Mars took the stage next, also having a shot at three songs to impress the audience. The group opened its set with a cover of the all-too-famous “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. Keeping with the trend of cover songs, Walk On Mars sang Paramore’s “That’s What You Get.” The band then performed Demi Lovato’s 2000s hit “La La Land,” which had a lot of spectators reminiscing on their Disney Channel childhoods. To wrap up the set, the band sang a bit of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle.”

It’s not a true battle of the bands unless they actually go back and forth, right?

Moonroof returned to the stage with its own song, “Honey, Honey.” Moonroof’s lead singer clearly got more comfortable on the THON stage, showing off his dance moves and interacting with people on the floor. This second round was highlighted by more of Moonroof’s original songs, including “Goodbye.” By the end of this second set, even both guitarists were really getting into the performance.

Walk On Mars returned to the stage, and so did the early 2000s throwbacks. The pop-rock band dove right into Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi.” Walk On Mars jumped back into the 2020s, performing Taylor Swift’s current chart-topper “Anti-Hero,” which got a big cheer from the audience. The band finally showed its own skills with an original song from its first album, called “Love Yourself.” To wrap up the second set, Walk On Mars sang another crowd favorite, “Ain’t It Fun” by Paramore. This one had letters bouncing to the beat all across the Bryce Jordan Center.

Moonroof back to the stage one last time! After another original song, the band kept the crowd rocking with “Somebody Told Me” by The Killers.

For the final performance of the battle, Walk On Mars gave an energetic performance of “Dream On.”

After a quick vote by text, Walk On Mars was declared the winner of THON 2023’s Battle of the Bands.

If you liked what you heard on the THON stage, you can check out the group’s album, which comes out on March 31.