Erika Flowers, winner of the Battle of the Bands, landed a gig as the opener for Matisyahu at the Howlin’ Wolf with her band Erika Flowers and the Foundation.

“I am very excited; this is a great opportunity. I have liked Matisyahu for a while now,” said Flowers, a music industry junior.

Once Flowers found out that she was the winner of the campus Battle of the Bands, she could barely contain her excitement.

“I found out about Battle of the Bands during a multimedia midterm. My phone kept going off and I looked down and I saw that Michael Morin, SGA vice president, was calling me. I was so excited I just wanted to tell everyone about it,” said Flowers.

Many Loyola students support Flowers and her accomplishments.

“I really like her music. From what I have heard, she is very good. I think she’s very talented,” said Mackenzie McMillan, political science sophomore.

The band members of Erika Flowers and the Foundation include Chris Guccione on drums, Samuel Phillips on bass, Victor Gould on keyboard, Carson Wahl on trumpet, Leland Baker on saxophone and Sean Gray-Julian on trombone.

“In the beginning I didn’t know how a band works, but I learned from my band members. They taught each other things. It is a blessing to have such great musicians in the band,” said Flowers.

Flowers is from the Bronx in New York, where she attended Fiorello H. Laguardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts studying vocal performance.

New Orleans is the first place where Flowers performed, although she wrote while at home in the Bronx. Flowers hit the Loyola scene in December 2010 by performing at talent shows and step shows.

Flowers kept faith in herself and her band members, despite moments of difficulty.

“Last semester felt like a low point. It’s easy to loose faith when you see people who are doing what you are doing and getting things you aren’t,” said Flowers. She emphasized that “you have to take everything at your own pace.”

Now that things are moving forward, Flowers still remains humble, stating that if fame were to arise, she would still keep music in the forefront and not be consumed with being famous.

“The majority of my efforts are for music,” said Flowers.

Jasmine Barnes can be reached at [email protected]