Graci Vlattas
Junior Editor
Sewanee night life is as strong as ever as the student body enters the surprisingly cold spring semester. This tight-knit community is visiting lively and vibrant events to kick off the new year in true Sewanee fashion. And every good amount of fun needs a solid soundtrack. As the fun continues, musical shows and appearances emerge. One particular group, which performed their farewell show at Shenanigans’s BOGO event on Jan. 14, is the band Jettison. This time proved to be, in the words of one of their many covers that night, the “best we have ever had”.
This band will take you back in the best way possible. Their sets consisting of both covers and originals encompass the “garage band” aesthetic in those nostalgic and rocking early 2000s movies. It was impossible for attendees not to move their feet, let alone dance along to the music. Students and locals alike were screaming the lyrics to covers and jamming to the cacophony of music solos throughout the songs.
We interviewed Jettison’s current guitarist, Pete Haight (C ‘24), about how the killer music group came to be.
Jettison started in late 2018, with a core group of JT Jenkins (C ‘25), the lead singer, Curtis Gill (C ‘25), playing bass, and Sean Willis (C ‘25), playing drums. After a “revolving door” of guitarists, Haight joined the group and they have been quickly unstoppable since. Growing together and through hard times like quarantine, the band has practiced, performed, and written original music–an act that Sean and Curtis call their most “engaging activity together” that provides some “very thoughtful work.”
Their single “Starcrossed” is out streaming now and easily one of their most popular with its infectious guitar melody and baseline in unity. Jettison has commonly played at many varying venues around the state of Tennessee, from restaurants to Sewanee fraternities to underground music spots like The Eye in Nashville, a trippy and personal favorite of the members.
But, Sewanee has always held a special place in the hearts of the band. Haight, during the interview, said, “Personally I’ve always loved playing shows in Sewanee. The familiarity of the place just means so much to me.”
As alumni, the university created a safe environment for them to share their music. They have had many appearances at Sewanee fraternities, like FIJI during rock nights, throughout the years, and captured the hearts of the student body. Jettison, as mentioned, is sadly taking a break for now–not forever–as their keystone, Jenkins, is going to join the Peace Corps. Haight said, “To have the last show for two years with our leader in front of friends and family in the place we have all called home in some way was really special. That’ll be a great memory.”
Thank you, Jettison, for the impact you have left at Sewanee, and we can not wait until we see you again.