After a Saturday soaked in rain and rattled by thunder, a light still managed to break through the gloom—Sincerely,
By: Hayley Power
Credit: Sydney Hinton and Hayley Power
How was the Swamp Records x Rowdy Battle Of The Bands collab? Well, it was the kind of night you think about after you graduate. March 8th, Truth Value, Trustfall, Sincerely, and No Vacancy took the stage at the Truth Value house, a local house venue. The energy was electric, the crowd was alive, and the four insanely talented bands came together in a musical clash that could be heard from neighboring blocks. After nearly four hours of non-stop music, one band came out on top: Sincerely.
Sincerely, is a five-piece group from UCF who made their Gainesville debut at the battle. They describe their sound as post-hardcore with a twist, coining the term "midedge,” a blend of Midwest emo vibes, but with “more of an edge.”
“We all have really different influences that we bring together to make that midwest emo kind of grungy sound,” said Jack "Lemon" Leventhal, a second-year entertainment management major and Sincerely, guitarist/vocalist.
Their story began the summer before their first year at UCF. Ethan Yingling was looking for people to jam with and turned to the UCF Class of 2027 page. That’s when he connected with Lucca, who eventually brought along his roommate Lemon. Brooke, their neighbor at the time, met Lemon and Lucca and jumped in on drums. Reyna joined after meeting the band at their first gig—she made bracelets at the show with the band and ended up becoming their vocalist. Their lineup was solidified by September 2024, and the rest is history.
The Battle of the Bands was a new adventure for Sincerely,. “We’re not from Gainesville,” they said, “so it was a whole new experience for us.” With no expectations, they came to play and left their mark.
“That was our first house show, it was so fun. I would only do house shows if I had the opportunity,” said Lucca Colucciello, a second-year Computer Science major and guitarist.
Their favorite performance of the night? “Slam Dancing” – a crowd favorite that closed their set with energy to spare. Their guitarist, Lucca, even jumped into the mosh pit with his guitar and played in the mud. “It’s called ‘Slam Dancing’ for a reason.”
Well, you may be asking, what’s next for these college rockstars? The band is currently recording their first EP, set to release before June. It’ll feature four songs that showcase their unique sound. “We’re always working on stuff,” they teased, noting they have lots of cool things coming soon and can’t wait to come back to Gainesville.
And just like that, Gainesville got its first look into one of UCF’s loudest new voices. One that we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
Sincerely,
Sincerely.
Hayley Power is a first-year Media Production major at the University of Florida. She’s probably currently either writing a really lengthy letterboxd review or logging an unhealthy amount of minutes on spotify.
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