The 529s will mark its one-year anniversary with a Spring Sing debut.

The band is composed of students Kiva Schweig, Roman Leitz, Maxwell Jenkins, Jacob Mayer, Addie Chandler and Will Stokes. Named after its founding members’ first-year dorm room number in Rieber Hall, The 529s is celebrating its first year filled with memorable stage performances, charity shows and original music. Second-year undeclared student Chandler said the band reflects each member’s individual musical tastes.

“It’s a very interesting blend,” Chandler said. “Roman brings a lot of blues, like that funk kind of Herbie Hancock feel. Kiva brings that very heavily Grateful Dead and John Mayer-inspired playing style mixed with really floaty vocals. And then, of course, Jacob is hip like that, so he just brings all the jazz licks … I build a lot of my bass lines based on electronic music and the funk stuff of Wolfpack. So all those meld together to, I think, make a very new psychedelic groove sound.”

What sets The 529s apart from other college bands is the group’s emphasis on originality, second-year cognitive science student Schweig said. During his first year, Schweig said he and second-year global jazz student Leitz set a goal of playing a show with an entirely original set as opposed to cover songs. While they are still working toward that goal, he said audiences have been receptive to the group’s original music.

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Leitz said the band will be performing its original song “Get Me On The Way,” which was released in October 2024. “Get Me On The Way” draws inspiration from “Hey Jude” by The Beatles and the style of musician John Mayer, Leitz said. The members later realized that the song bears a tonal resemblance to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” Schweig added.

For its Spring Sing audience, The 529s reworked the piece to include an additional chorus that will allow viewers to sing along, among other changes, Schweig said. He added that the band experimented heavily with different iterations of “Get Me On The Way” before deciding on the version it will play at Spring Sing.

“Every time we play it this year, we’ve tried to play it a different way,” Schweig said.

In preparation for Friday’s show, Schweig said the group has been rehearsing five to six days a week and performing gigs at parties. Leitz said the band is always looking to improve and that its Spring Sing performance will be a testament to the commitment and group chemistry among the six members. Several members, including Leitz and second-year ethnomusicology and geography/environmental studies student Mayer, said they are most excited to meet Spring Sing’s audience. Leitz said his family will be in attendance to watch the group perform at the competition for the first time.

“I am really excited to just play in front of such a great crowd — probably the biggest stage I’ve played on,” Mayer said. “It’ll be really special to be up there. I don’t want to get swept up in the moment. I want to appreciate it, for sure.”

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The band has faced challenges securing a consistent drummer, Schweig said, with the group contacting eight different drummers at one point. Schweig said the band still needed a permanent drummer after passing the Spring Sing audition and later found Stokes. After overcoming that primary challenge, Schweig added that they’ve bonded well as a group.

As the group makes its final preparations for the event, Schweig said The 529s’ main goal is to connect with the audience and enjoy performing. After playing primarily for students, he added that The 529s has endeavored to broaden its stage appeal. He said the band continues to unlock new skills and creativity as it rehearses.

“We’re in the position where we can provide a lot of joy for other people, and they can live vicariously through us – our parents, our family, alumni,” Schweig said. “(We want to) remind people that college and music are things that are fun, and we have fun on stage. We’re not going to look nervous. We’re going to just be having fun, and I think that’s the best part.”