And the Winner of Battle 2023 Is…

Six bands took the stage in Alumni Hall to compete in Battle for the coveted opening spot of Movin’ On 2023 on Tuesday night. Each of the six acts had a unique sound of their own, all showcasing immense amounts of musical talent. After much deliberation between the four judges, one band was chosen as the winner of Battle. The opening act for Movin’ On 2023 is Mellow Honey, which is a trio made up of Martin as vocals and guitar, Rob on bass, and Dillon on drums.

As soon as Mellow Honey took the stage, it was clear that they were a unified group. While speaking with them, the trio emphasized how important it was for them to be a tight-knit band. This showed through their matching outfits consisting of white tank tops, cut off jean shorts, and sweatbands, which was inspired by the movie Space Jam.

“We watched it six times before playing. We had a little training camp thing that we did, and Space Jam was kind of a common theme during that," Martin said. "Just watching that movie on repeat, kind of getting hyped for this."

There are many exciting things about opening for Movin’ On, from the large crowd to performing alongside notable artists in the music industry. For Mellow Honey, the most exciting part is getting to play a 30 minute long set.

"We get to fit way more music [in our performance]," Martin said. "So hopefully we can play some more of our stuff from our album, the stuff that’s released, and hopefully our listeners will make an appearance.”

If you want to listen to Mellow Honey before Movin’ On but are unsure where to start, the group unanimously agreed that their song “The Sugar Store” would be the place to go.

“It’s the one that’s the easiest to catch," Martin said. "It’s pretty melodic and there’s a lot of memorable lyrics in that. That’s a great introduction to what we aspire to be.”

Mellow Honey's music, including their album "Sentimental By Design," can be found on SPOTIFY and Apple Music.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support the six wonderful acts at Battle 2023. We hope you enjoyed the event and we can't wait to see you all at Mellow Honey's opening performance at Movin' On 2023 at the IM Fields on April 28!