DEANSMEN: Bates' male a capella singing group, the Deansmen have been on the scene since 1957. We've recorded two albums in the last few years. The music is a combination of '50s and '60s and contemporary music, and is usually arranged by members of the group. A capella singing does take a lot of work, but performing is a BLAST. CHECK OUT their MP3's here.

The MERIMANDERS is the student-run, female a capella singing group which performs music from a variety of genres on campus and in the surrounding communities. We tour other campuses and bring similar groups to Bates. Anyone interested in singing is welcome to audition.

 MANIC OPTIMISTS established in 2000 is an all-male contemporary rock/pop a capella group. The group provides the Bates community and surrounding areas with a variety of venues including concerts, coffeehouses, and an appearance at Parents’ Weekend, other campus events, as well as performances at other colleges, high schools, and civic organizations. In the fall of 2002, we plan to make our first CD. So if you love to sing…tryout for Bates College Manic Optimists.

WRBC Radio Bates College — 91.5 fm — We are an organization in which one out of every six Batesies participates. We promote an open system of broadcasting, with set formats, but not set music. Tune us in during Orientation to find out what we are all about, or feel free to stop by our studio in the basement of OCS anytime! Sign up to run your own show! Listen live.

CROSSTONES: The Crosstones are the newest a capella group at Bates and the only one that is co-ed, and therefore, open to everyone. We sing at campus events from coffeehouses to small concerts, trying hard to establish ourselves as an extremely fun group to watch. Interested? Then audition. It will make you (and us) feel good.

CULTURED VOICES: Cultured Voices performs International and World music for the Bates and Lewiston-Auburn communities and has opened for several professional international music groups including MEZLCA, an Afro-Cuban musical group from Cuba. Cultured Voices strives to educate and expand the knowledge of the Bates community and surrounding cities.

JAZZ BAND: Similar to high school jazz ensembles, this band performs a wide variety of music from Big Band Era to arrangements of contemporary pop chart hits. Weekly rehearsals run for an hour and a half, and we perform concerts on campus. We encourage any interested musician to join us.