Our school’s students are deeply passionate about music. It is seen in performances from the band and orchestra, as well as the newest concert T-shirt someone chooses to wear.

However, music at our school is not just based within the building. Student-led bands, such as the Split Ends, are flourishing outside of class.

The Split Ends are our school’s most shining example of a student band. The group features senior Lillie Roland alongside McLean High School students senior Sophia Al-Eyd and senior Julien DiPatri.

The group was formed through social media and mutual connections but has grown quite close over the last two years. They can be found jamming out and coming up with song ideas on Wednesdays in Al-Eyd’s basement.

Most notably, the band frequently plays live shows at spaces like the Pie Shop in DC and Jammin’ Java. Their recently released EP, “Self-Titled” is already a hit within the local music community, receiving thousands of streams on Spotify.

The most complicated aspect of being in a student band is balancing school work and recording the music.

“Whenever we have done recording, I think that is probably the hardest thing to work around… It ends up being, like, seven hours. It’s so hard to do that and school… I can’t skip my seven hour school day and record for seven hours after that,” Roland said.

What the band cherishes the most is getting to be passionate about and connected by music. The opportunity to create meaningful art and enjoy it with friends is the most important piece of Split Ends.

“It’s fun and you get to know [your bandmates] very personally… I feel like we’re three very different people and you wouldn’t expect us to be friends outside of the band. But we all connect because we love music and we love what we do,” Roland and DiPatri said.

Our school’s students can support this awesome student-led band by listening to their new EP, “Self-Titled,” and attending a concert. The Split Ends’ next live show is April 26 at the Riot D.C. Music Festival.