No-Chella began as a joke among KSPC staff. In response to Coachella only selling full, three-day passes this year (for $369, not including tax and fees), they joked that they should just hold an alternative called “No-Chella” on Mount Baldy. Just four weeks ago, said Mandy Marcus PO ’11, “We just said, let’s really do this.”

Enter No-Chella, a nine-band, eight-hour extravaganza modeled after Coachella—but without the hefty price tag or the three-day commitment. It will be held tonight on the South Lawn at SCC, starting at 5 p.m. and continuing until 1 a.m. In case your attention span wanes, there will be two kegs and an inflatable bouncy castle for good measure.

The festival is designed to start out with folksy, early-evening music and ramp up the intensity as the night wears on, with what Marcus describes as “’60s surf-rock bands.” She said, “We tried to get bands we knew were fun live but also please a variety of music tastes.”

Though Marcus acknowledges that most Pomona students probably won’t recognize the names of the bands playing at No-Chella, that doesn’t mean they aren’t making waves out there in the real world. Avi Buffalo was recently signed to Sub Pop, the record label that signed Nirvana and Soundgarden, and is currently featured on Sub Pop’s website. The four-person band, named after 18-year-old singer Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg, will be releasing a self-titled album Apr. 27. Zahner-Isenberg, who has said that his songs were nearly all written in “a vein of romantic-ness,” has managed to infuse his intricate arrangements with an appealing layer of emotion.

My favorite song on the No-Chella playlist might be “1062” by Pepper Rabbit (scheduled to play at 7 p.m.). This LA duo’s haunting vocals remind me a bit of Rogue Wave—but they manage to craft their own sound by mixing rich harmonies, electronic beats, bongos, and shakers. The gentle melodies and layered instrumentation of Pepper Rabbit should make for a perfect early-evening band, setting a relaxed mood before the sun sets on No-Chella.

Another band, Male Bonding, has a single called “Year’s Not Long” that made it onto Pitchfork.com’s “Best New Tracks” feature. Pitchfork, a popular music review site, praised “Year’s Not Long” for “its emotional core. Webb’s upper-register vocals have yearning nailed down.” Male Bonding is releasing its first album with Sub Pop next month. This threesome hails from London—the most exotic band on No-Chella’s set list. Their energetic pop-punk style should energize No-Chella from 10 to 11 p.m. and pave the way for the final two performers, experimental indie-rockers Happy Hollows and NoBunny.

Probably the most outrageous performer, San Francisco’s No Bunny is known for his strange on-stage persona.

“Sort of like how Stephen Colbert puts on a character and never comes out of his character—that’s what NoBunny is like. He wears a bunny mask and usually no pants,” Marcus said.

NoBunny, also known as Justin Champlin, is more than just a funny (bunny) face, though: his brand of ’60s-style garage punk/rock is fun and catchy. Though music blogs disagree about whether his “more than a little creepy” and “crazy, nearly-nude” appearance overwhelms his music, his performance is not one to miss.