Lariat poses with their trophy after winning the 2025 Battle of the Bands at the University of Arkansas. | Photo credit: Karyk King
Diverse genres from five performing bands blended into a loud night on Nov. 13 in the Union Theater at the University of Arkansas. The performances left the judges unprepared to make their vote. After delegation over an encore, a panel of judges decided on Lariat as the winner of the University Programs 2025 Battle of the Bands.
University Programs’ Battle of the Bands is an event held yearly on campus. It has varied in location on campus over the years but remains a popular annual event.
Abbie Petersen a University of Arkansas junior and president of Hill Records, helped both emcee and direct the event and had been working with a team since the summer to make it happen. There is lots of planning involved, but it is worth it to see what it comes out to be every year and how bigger it gets each time, Petersen said.
Ahead of their victory, members of Lariat were optimistic – and comedic.
“We’re just excited to have a good time,” Andrew Ruegsegger said.
“A lot of good bands,” Coleman Hughes said.
“We’re just here for the free concert,” Win Phillips said.
The members did not yet know that they would be decided as the winners. Each band was provided with a 10-minute set, with Miss March and the Flowers on first. Miss March is an upcoming psychedelic rock group composed of five members: Madelyn Jones on vocals, Harrison Cain on bass, Blaze Tausend on guitar, Gawain Engholm on drums and Jaxon Preissinger on guitar. They closed to applause after having broken the ice for the bands to come.
After the five-minute set change required to keep the show on track, Oil & Sun had their turn on stage. Philip England and Logan Jones came on as a duo of indie/soft rock tunes with one on vocals and guitar and the other on drums. The crowd and judges enjoyed their performance, and it showed as they earned runner-up status in the competition.
Oil & Sun’s set and the following set by Ashton and the Petals felt short and sweet with similar sounds of soft, pop rock and songs of love permeating the air.
Ashton and the Petals is a project of student musician Ashton Bird and brought together university friends to enjoy music together.
After the roar and rumble of applause from the audience after the third set, each reaction from the audience seemed even.
Placeholders, a five-piece nu-punk band, stuck out as the only band playing with a generally rougher sound among bands playing with softer or brighter tones. The group consisted of Billy Buckey on vocals, Josh Carter on lead guitar, Drew Pehlman on rhythm guitar, Colin Partridge on bass guitar and Micah Dotson on drums. This difference in sound —a difference so notable that the emcees were required to remind the audience no moshing was allowed— worked in their favor as the unseen energy they let out echoed back from the crowd. After Placeholders got their share of time on stage, the crowd applauded the loudest they had that night in a seemingly defining moment until Lariat would take the stage soon after.
Lariat is a folk plus indie plus rock band of four young men, three of which are related. Like each band prior, they played original music as well. Their four members covered the standard band repertoire of instruments: Trip Phillips on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Win Phillips on keys and bass, Andrew Ruegsegger on drums and Coleman Hughes on backing vocals and lead or bass guitar. The band mixes folk and indie with pop as Win brings the keyboard into the tracks.
After a few minutes, the judges decided they needed more time and allowed Lariat back on stage for an encore. Some of the audience member voiced the possibility of an encore giving an unfair advantage to Lariat as the judges took their final five minutes to decide.
Lariat’s cover of “Vampire Empire” by Big Thief ended with a final shock of applause, sent off as the lsst song to be played for the night. The judges passed the final vote to the emcees, and they took stage to call the winners. Oil & Sun took runner-up, and Lariat took first place with each getting a trophy to commemorate the achievement.