By Cherie Khoo (26S03B), Irene Eva Thomas (26A01B), Kunchur Bharat (26A01B), Tomi Peh (26S06P)
Images courtesy of Raffles Crew
On the 4th of April, RI students trailed home, all of them getting ready to wind down for the weekend. All except those forming the steadily growing queue outside the Theatre Studies Department (TSD) room for Rock In—Raffles Rock’s very own free-to-enter concert.
Stepping foot into the TSD room, we got the sense of an organic, intimate concert venue. The audience was audibly excited, and the band—only a metre away from those at the front—took the stage looking every bit the part of rockstars. As the lights dimmed, the TSD room, perhaps not visited by most Rafflesians, transformed into a venue reminiscent of a nightclub and a sense of anticipation washed over the crowd as they waited eagerly for the set to start.
Outnumbered’s Electrifying Debut
Batch ‘26, Outnumbered (@outnumbered821), took to the stage first, accompanied by thunderous applause. They opened their debut with the trending song Birds of a Feather (Billie Eilish). The audience sang along with the keyboardists who skillfully replicated the song’s high notes. As a nice touch by the lighting crew, just as the vocalists sang the lyric “and if I’m turning blue”, the lights did just that.
Before moving on to their next song, Tek It (Cafuné), the audience got their first introduction to the debuting band which until this point had been somewhat of a mystery.
Tek It was surprisingly great (given its relative obscurity compared to other songs on the setlist) at setting the mood with its strong bass line, keeping the audience energised with nice instrumental breaks to let each member of the band shine. As a segue into the next song, the band encouraged the audience to destress by singing about their feelings in Complicated (Avril Lavigne). Despite not being as “danceable” as some of the artist’s other songs, Complicated was a great introduction to the rock and roll vibe of the concert, with a powerful drum accompaniment.
The song that followed, That’s What I Like (Bruno Mars), allowed Batch 26’s band, Outnumbered, to find their “voice” alongside the crowd, who sang their hearts out to the lyrics of this karaoke staple. The roving lights in every shade of yellow—Bruno Mars’ iconic colour—set the mood for this absolute classic that kept the crowd buzzing all the way till the end of the evening.
An Utterly Fantastic Performance: Split Decisions
Split Decisions, the Year 6 band, opened with Still Into You (Paramore), a rock staple. Despite being a vocally challenging song, Split Decisions’ experience shone through as managed to pull it off effortlessly as their opening song. With the audience still hyped up from That’s What I Like, this was a great segue into the rest of Split Decisions’ rock-heavy setlist. In our interview with the Y6 band members, we found out that Paramore was a personal inspiration and also a throwback to Rock Out ‘24 where they played Ain’t It Fun.
Moving on, the band launched into Dancing Queen (ABBA), with the vocalists putting a spin on the intro with some cool riffs. The rhythmic drum beat echoing throughout the studio matched with the thumping sound of the audience’s jumping. It was a perfect complement to September (Earth, Wind & Fire), which set a groovy mood, with the crowd clapping along in sync to the song’s funky tunes. The “ba-du-da” instrumental breaks got the audience singing along and clapping to the beat, reminiscent of a 70s dance floor.
As the band played the intro to Nonsense (Sabrina Carpenter), they were met with a synchronised harmony coming from the crowd. The audience went line for line, word for word with the singers. Nonsense was a fantastic choice by Split Decisions—given its popularity and ability to tie the crowd together, it truly banded the crowd together.
As they left the stage, the audience called for an encore, and Split Decisions did not disappoint! They ended the night with a rendition of Iris (Goo Goo Dolls), the ultimate classic. One of our favourite moments was when everyone waited for the iconic drum lead-in to the chorus and sang along to the beautiful lyrics. “And I don’t want the world to see me…”
The Afterparty… And Some Surprise Guests!
If you stayed around for a little longer for the afterparty, you would’ve caught Batch 24’s band, Ten Volt Tragedy, in action! An unexpected, unplanned performance, Ten Volt Tragedy, pulled us, along with many Rafflesians, back into the TSD room with the intro chords to Creep (Radiohead), which then evolved into a full-blown dance party as they played the classic, You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift). For any Y5 KI-takers out there who didn’t make it for Rock In, you would’ve missed a rare Pokémon sighting—our Y7 teacher (or Ten Volt Tragedy’s bassist) in action, going wild on the bass line of You Belong With Me.
To end off the concert, Split Decisions snuck a lyric change in…
“Thank you all you were a rockin crowd, had to close the doors we got so loud, if you like it bigger come for Rock Out”
“Nonsense” outro
Rock’s camaraderie shone through in their soulful performances, exhibiting their skill and artistry which came together in this smash hit of a concert. Split Decisions’s hours of practice paid off wonderfully, capturing our hearts by showcasing their versatility and confidence. Outnumbered debuted beautifully, and we can’t wait to see more at Rock Out.
More information available on Instagram (@rafflesrock).
Interview Video: