One Billion Lions, a local art rock outfit, recently made the journey from Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts to the Micheal and Sara Kuhlin Center to record an episode of Live & Loud.
The band began as the brainchild of Elijah Stewart, lead vocalist and guitarist.
“Once upon a time a kid picked up the guitar… he wanted to be in a band forever, then he finally formed a band,” said Stewart. Shortly after, he referred to his bandmates as his “best friends.”
The music composition student was “looking for an outlet to get his music played… we all got to flesh out the songs with him,” said Riley Kramer, drummer.
Hayden Mesnick, keyboardist and composition student, has created music for several campus events outside of One Billion Lions–most recently, his music was featured for the Total Solar Eclipse watch party at the Doyt L. Perry Stadium. Sam Batty, a new addition to the group, is another Jazz Studies student, as well as Kramer. Laughing, Batty explained: “I was at a Dairy Queen 3 weeks ago, and they just asked me to play bass–I’m usually a drummer.”
The group of friends has gone on to infuse their jazz sensibilities into their music, playing their first several shows on campus and in the Bowling Green area.
One Billion Lions’ music is not yet available on any streaming platforms. For information on their music and upcoming shows, check out the band’s social media.
