Student rock band The Board of Directors is the latest standout group in Oxford’s music scene. The band’s formation in 2024 occurred through random encounters and interest in similar music.
Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Lewis Glanker, a junior finance major from Memphis, Tenn., met lead guitarist Jack Echols, a junior Southern studies major from Birmingham Ala., in their dorm freshman year when Echols was carrying around his guitar.
Glanker met bassist Pete Downing, a junior business major from Jackson, after striking up a conversation about playing bass. Sophomore business major Will Nichols from Birmingham Ala., joined as the drummer after previously playing with Echols in high school.
The band’s name was imagined by Echols, who explained the ironic nature of their name.
“It’s sort of to point at the fact that we don’t really take ourselves that seriously,” Echols said. “I guess I thought it’d be kind of funny.”
The band mainly plays covers from a variety of iconic rock bands. They pointed to a plethora of their favorite artists who have inspired them, including The Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, Duran Duran and The Police.
“The songs we want to cover are all so insanely different; they come from all corners of the music world,” Echols said. “But the cool thing is every time someone really passionately wants to play a song, it’s like we all fall in line around it and make it our own thing.”
Nicols also expressed a love for the band’s covers, especially the reactions they bring.
“(Audience recognition) is why doing covers is so fun; someone in the crowd is always going to know a song we play,” Nichols said.
Compared to other college towns in the South, Oxford has a distinctive musical culture, Glanker said.
“I think Oxford’s kind of unique,” Glanker said. “You have places like Athens, Ga., where everybody that picks up a guitar goes to school there. I feel like Oxford is a little dialed down, but it’s coming back.”
Downing noted the musical landscape of Oxford created a unique void for The Board of Directors to fill.
“I feel like when we were first getting started, there were a ton of country bands,” Downing said. “There wasn’t really anybody playing classic or Southern rock.”
The Board of Directors has played at various venues and events in Oxford, including fraternity and sorority events, at Harrison’s and Round Table, block parties and Proud Larry’s.
“Most of the gigs we do are fraternity parties, whether that’s traveling or local in Oxford,” Glanker said. “But I think we all agree our favorite gig to do is a little block party.”
The band spoke highly of their performances at Proud Larry’s. Over the summer, The Board of Directors played at Proud Larry’s June 13 and had a residency July 17, 24 and 31. Collectively, members of the band agreed that Proud Larry’s atmosphere is special, serving as a space where they can combine each of their musical influences into one unified sound.
“Proud Larry’s is the only real venue in town where you can come and just walk in and see somebody play,” Downing said.
Nichols elaborated on the venue’s ability to foster a diverse audience.
“When we’ve played here, I’ve met a lot of people that I’ve never seen and local people from Oxford,” Nichols said.
The band hasn’t expressed long-term plans, though Glanker spoke of potential performances of original songs in the future.
“We’ve had a few original songs sneak through in practices,” Glanker said. “Me and Jack are always writing stuff. We really want that to materialize in the right way before we put that out. It’s definitely in the cards.”
The Board of Directors’ next show is Thursday, Sept. 28, at Proud Larry’s starting at 9 p.m.
