Ethan Franklin and Over/Under Bringing a New Sound to Blacksburg

Nov. 7, 2023 - BLACKSBURG, Va.

Ethan Franklin, is not only a senior at Virginia Tech, but he is also the lead guitarist for Blacksburg, Virginia’s newest band, Over/Under. Franklin’s band aims to bring a harder and grungier sound to Blacksburg.

The pandemic caused the almost complete shutdown of live music at Virginia Tech and in Blacksburg. But as Virginia Tech continues to branch back out post-pandemic, so has the music scene.

There are only a select few music venues that bands have the opportunity to play in the town of Blacksburg. The main two right now being The Milk Parlor and XYZ Art Gallery. With many venues closing down or pivoting away from live music altogether such as Cabo Fish Taco and The Cellar due to low attendance and the high costs of putting on concerts.

Due to this, many bands choose to do more Do It Yourself (DIY) type of concerts, many of which are in apartments and houses around the town of Blacksburg.

While this has led to a growing number of bands surfacing, many of their sounds have been centered around indie rock, such as bands like Crack in the Sidewalk, Terrakosma, and The Dumpster Raccoons.

At the start of the semester, there has been an influx of new bands that are branching out their sounds, including Franklin’s band Over/Under.

Franklin and Over/Under played their first show as the opening act to a crowd of about 100 people on Thursday Nov. 2, 2023.

They were accompanied by Vin Noir and Rassa Frassa.