The Bands of Vanier College

Of the hundreds of students that attend Vanier College, only a select few are in the music program. Of those students, there are only a select few who are in bands. If you would like to expose yourself to local musical talent, look no further! This article features 5 bands whose members are Vanier College students. You will be introduced to, “Cherry Thief”, “Photobomb!”, “The Hallways”, “Bubblegum Flavour”, and “Rug Pull”. Without further ado, let’s get into these bands!

Cherry Thief

After meeting everyone in the Vanier music program, Tyler came up with the idea to unite everyone’s musical abilities together to form a band.

Interesting fact about Molly and Jasmine, they knew each other since elementary school. Within those 10 years of friendship, they girls formed a band of their own called “Sour Apples”. As time went on, the two friends put music on the back burner. Fast forward a couple years and now they are proud members of “Cherry Thief”. Jasmine explained how they both saw “Cherry Thief” as an opportunity to get back into music (Stein Webb, 2025).

As for the band name, the group was set on having the word “cherry” in the name. Eventually, they landed on “Cherry Thief” which, to them, has no significance. The members stuck with it because it simply “sounded cool” (Stein Webb, 2025).

Seeing how these musicians are also students, they make time to meet once a week for 2 hours. They spend their rehearsals jamming and coming up with original material. For “Cherry Thief”, creating songs starts off by someone coming up with a riff or chord progression. From there, the band develops a legitimate song. Wicked, no? To prepare for gigs, they work on covers too (Stein Webb, 2025).

Speaking of gigs, playing in front of a live audience can be a bit nerve-racking. But thanks to the groups frequent exposure in front of live audiences, they’ve developed an immunity against it. Benet explains, “Once we start playing, we feel we get in a bubble together listening to each other. We get into the music” (Fradera Brunet, 2025).

Thanks to their enrollment in the music program, “Cherry Thief” has been exposed to various music styles and techniques. The band explained, “it helps us to understand how to work collaboratively” (2025).

Despite them being young and upcoming, “Cherry Thief” has experienced such memorable experiences. For instance, their favourite memory to date is the first show they ever performed in front of a live audience. The group looks forward to future performances which they do not have scheduled yet but will announce them when they do on their Instagram: @cherrythiefband.

Photobomb!

Considering the fact that there are not a lot of students in the program, all members met in the music department. After hanging out and jamming together, Tyler suggested they form a band. They decided on ”Photobomb!” as a band name because it had a good ring it ”fit with the 2000s pop rock vibe” they were going for (2025).

In order to rehearse for upcoming shows and create new songs, the band meets up once a week in the music practice rooms at Vanier. Lead vocalists, Anita often writes the lyrics and the melodies of the band’s original songs which the group later finishes during their practice sessions.

”Photobomb!” has performed live at various locations and enjoys the energy they share with the crowd and meeting new people. An impressive accomplishment the band cherishes is when the won a ”Battle of the Bands” competition at Bar de Courcelle this past summer (2025).

Wonder how Vanier’s music program helped these students become the musician they are today?

Martin boldly states:

”The music program has some of the best teachers and players in all of Canada. [Thanks to them], I understand a lot more how to play the drums, as well as [how] to be a good band member” (Katz, 2025).

Tyler shares:

“Studying jazz has broadened my horizons and allowed me to meet some amazing students” (Cielen, 2025).

Kayel explains:

“The Vanier music program has taught me the skills I need to perform in settings I was previously unaccustomed to. Playing in “Photobomb!”, I am able to bring my jazz influence into my playing” (Hodges, 2025).

So you see kids, the program you’re in can indeed have an effect on what you decide to do as a hobby or as a future career.

If you didn’t know, “Photobomb!” will be dropping a bomb.com single titled “For the Best” very soon. You can follow them on Instagram @photobombtheband to stay updated.

(photos by @renniee.cherry)

The Hallways

“The Hallways” officially came to be this year and they established themselves as a cover rock band. The band is currently taking a break from performing as both guitarists have tendinitis. But when they do meet, they “run through the songs they cover and brainstorm for originals” (2025).

To create an original song, the band has jam sessions. When it comes to performing, “The Hallways” “try to perform the songs [they cover] differently so it’s still entertaining for the audience and exciting every time” (2025).

Being a Vanier music student is something that all band members have in common. Benet explains that thanks to the program, he is able to be more professional by being prepared for rehearsals (2025). Jeffrey shared that his guitar skills have improved since being a student at Vanier (2025). Understanding theory and how to perform is what helped Justin (2025). For Leith, he acquired a musical vocabulary that has enabled him to collaborate with others easier (2025). And as for Tomek, the program has surrounded him with ‘’people as passionate as [he] is” about music (2025).

When it comes to, favorite memories, hanging out before their first show at Casa del Popolo and eating empanadas at a Chilean restaurant tops the charts for this young band.

To support “The Hallways”, look out for their upcoming single ‘’Uncertainty’’ by following them @thehallways_official on Instagram. You can also look out for them in the school hallways!

Bubblegum Flavour

The tunes of “Bubblegum Flavour” are so poppin’! It’s a good thing the members are poppin’ too!

The students behind this band are Ray (guitarist and songwriter), Chloe (vocalist and song writer), David (second guitarist), Fred (drummer), and Renato Roberts (bass player).

To match the sweet and playful vibe of the band, Ray suggested the group have a color scheme which ended up being bubblegum pink. Chloe then came up with “Bubblegum Flavour” as the official name.

The band ‘’originated as a musical duo’’ with Ray and Chloe. They began writing songs together in Ray’s basement. Musical talent found its way to the duo with the addition of Fred, David, and Renato making “Bubblegum Flavour” the band it currently is.

Nowadays, the band meets up once a week to go over their original material and to create new songs.

The group has had various live performances in front of an audience. They described the feeling as ‘’electrifying and nerve-racking’’ (Ray, 2025) and exciting and meaningful (Fred, 2025). Chloe shared, ‘’It feels great. A lot of the lyrics I write are kind of like stories, so I’ll show the emotion [on] my face, kind of like theatre” (2025).

Thanks to being Vanier music students, Ray explains, “The band wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t met Fred and Renato. [The program] boosted my musical confidence while performing solos and combos” (2025). For Fred, “Vanier’s environment has given me the motivation to practice and shape my style of drumming and form more solos” (2025).

For now, the band enjoys looking back at the memories they’ve shared, like watching Real Housewives after practice (Fred) and performing for the first time as a band with family and friends at Barfly (Chloe).

“Big things are coming for sure” shared David (2025). The band invites us all to “stay tuned” by keeping up with them on their Instagram page @bbgumflavour.

Rug Pull

Pull the rug from under your feet and fall into a world full of gnarly beats. *Ai does not take the credit for the intros btw!*

The members of this band are Arvin Nazm (guitarist), Christian Lobaugh (drummer), Sterling McGregor (guitarist), and Rowan Brandt-Synnott (bass player).

The band’s journey did not start at Vanier. In fact, the boys met each other in high school, more specifically, in the guidance councilors office. And no, they were not troublesome kids! They would meet there because “it was the only room where [the school] would let [them] bring [their] Nintendo switch” (Mcgregor, 2025).

But they weren’t always called ”Rug Pull”. Band names like Mailmen, Brachiopod Beats, and Digital Footprint were all options that they considered. But Arvin came up with ”Rug Pull” after he realized he’d been staring at his rug for a while. If you didn’t know, a rug pull is a crypto scam. But the members all have their own “interpretations of what it stands for” (Brandt-Synnott, 2025).

As of right now, ”Rug Pull” has 10 written songs. The creation process generally starts off with “the guitarist or bassist [coming] in with a riff he wrote before, and the singer will use lyrics he wrote before practice” (2025). However, the group admits that their “best ideas usually come out sporadically during [their once a week practices]’’ (2025).

By being in the music program, Arvin expressed, “I’ve learned a lot about musical structure and composition that helps with the songwriting we do as a band” (2025).

The Insider wishes all the best of success for these young bands!