Rock & Row

Harvard students flocked to the yard on Sunday, April 16, for the College’s annual Yardfest concert. The undergraduates were excited to see the main performer, Jeremih, and the two student bands that had won the Battle for Yardfest, earning the right to open for the headliner. One of the two groups, Beacon Street Music, had quite the lead-up to the show.

Around 24 hours before the band was set to kick off the Yardfest celebrations, all of the band’s six members were racing against Princeton on Lake Carnegie in New Jersey with the Harvard Men’s Heavyweight Rowing team. Following victories in four of the five events on the day, the team then raced back home to Cambridge to undergo final rehearsals and preparation for the big show.

The band viewed the experience as a classic comeback story, after losing out on the Battle for Yardfest three years earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that shut down the school – and canceled their rowing seasons – for the better part of three years.

“Tom [Macky] and I had been in a few bands, trying to do Battle for Yardfest. Sophomore year we auditioned and got into the battle then a week later COVID hit, and we got sent home,” said Harry Burke a senior oarsman and guitarist for the group. “The next year comes around and we created a new group with guys from the team and a couple others, went through the audition process again, got in, and then we got sick.”

Going into their senior years, Tom Macky – a senior vocalist and guitarist in the group – and Burke came together to figure out who to recruit for their final run. As it turns out, the answer was right beside them in Newell Boathouse.

“After everything, we were still committed to finally getting a chance to play this year,” said Burke. “As we were putting everything together and figuring it out we realized that with the new guys Owen [Marcovitz] and Josh [Brangan] we could make an entire band with just guys from the team."

Josh Brangan [Drums], Felix Kwok [Keyboard], Simon Nunayon [Bass] and Owen Marcovitz [Guitar and Vocals] turned out to be the missing ingredients that not only boosted the group into the Battle for Yardfest, but actually helped them win the whole thing.

The name for the band, Beacon Street, got its roots from an old rowing team tradition, according to Macky.

“Every year the first-years on the team go through a scavenger hunt set up by the seniors that takes them around Cambridge and Boston,” said the first varsity crew member. “It’s a great bonding experience, running around town with your mates.”

One of the items on the list of tasks was to find an address the seniors had given them and pose for a ‘boy-band’-like photo with the whole group. The address given to the team was 251 Beacon Street in Boston. A few other band names had been discussed, but once Beacon Street was floated out, the boys had their title.

“We all knew it was perfect,” said Macky. “It was just such a fitting name.”

The Battle for Yardfest features 10 bands, all of which “fight” for the chance to open for the main acts at that year’s concert. Beacon Street was one of the 10 groups that were fighting for their chance to take the stage against a host of talent from all over the college.

Harvard is no stranger to musical talent. The connection with Berklee College of Music in Boston made the opposition a little stiffer, seeing that a few groups in the contest were derived of Berklee talent.

“There were two bands that had won the previous year that had full horn sections, pianos, keyboards, synthesizers, backup dancers, like full productions. They were really, really talented groups,” said Burke. “We came in with a heavy 80’s rock style and tone which was definitely different from the other groups competing.”

The Battle for Yardfest was held at the Sanders Theatre on Harvard’s campus, a lecture hall that is traditionally used for sections and testing for Harvard undergraduate students. When the group headed on stage to prepare for its set, they noticed more than a few familiar faces in the crowd. Nearly the entire men’s rowing program, comprised of nearly 120 athletes split between the heavyweight and lightweight squads, had rallied to show the group support.

“Having basically the whole rowing team in the audience definitely helped get the word out and gain support,” said Brangan. “Seeing all the boys going absolutely crazy for us in the crowd made it a really amazing moment.”

The group put together a three-song set list for the competition. Starting off with covers of Down Under by the Men at Work, I’m on Fire by Bruce Springsteen, the group eventually transitioned into its final song Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine.

After the band ended its set list, the group walked off the stage with a great feeling, according to Macky.

“Finally getting to engage with the crowd and feel the energy was incredible. We knew we went out and did our best and walked off the stage with a great feeling.”

The two winners of the Battle were chosen by a fans, and after all the votes had been counted, Beacon Street has finally accomplished its goal and was heading to Yardfest.

“After everything we had been through, it made the feeling that much more special,” added Macky.

The group was in the midst of its rowing season, moving through the competition while picking up five dual wins and retaining all but one cup against its foes on the water. The group carried that success into the battle, coming out victorious once again.

In sync on the water and on the stage, Beacon Street finally accomplished its goal after a long four-year journey.

“As with anything, the more you enjoy something the better you're going to be at and the more you’re going to want to be good at it,” said Macky. “We all loved playing with each other on stage and we all love competing with each other on the water.”

Now with the biggest race of the year on the horizon the group will have one last chance to do what it loves, together.

When the band members pick up their oars and get onto the Thames River to face off against Yale, its safe to say they’ll be doing so with a classic rock tune stuck in their heads, motivating them along the way.