Student band Waterstreet reclaimed its title at Program Board’s Battle of the Bands along with singer Adam Richman in a packed Hippodrome Thursday night. Both GW performers will open for The Roots in next week’s Spring Fling on the Quad.

Four GW acts – Waterstreet, Dave Nelson from Bradford Ave., Richman and the rock and roll tunes of Espresto – played four- to six-song sets. Students in the Hippodrome took breaks from playing pool and bowling to listen to the bands, and an audience of about 100 people cast ballots until after midnight for their favorite band.

Waterstreet’s four members, lead singer Christian Brucculeri, guitarist Rick Sorkin, bassist Bobby Nashawaty and percussionist T.J. Brunner, opened for The Bloodhound Gang at Spring Fling last April after winning the contest.

Band members said they looked forward to opening for The Roots.

“I can’t wait, it’ll be awesome!” Brucculeri said.

Adam Richman, the night’s other winner, closed the show with a solo rock and roll acoustic guitar performance, which drew delighted crowd response. Although the rest of his band could not join him for the contest, Richman said he hopes the whole band will play at Spring Fling.

Nelson opened his set with a song called “Lost Frequency,” and interspersed his acoustic guitar session with humorous anecdotal stories.

Members of Waterstreet, who are all seniors, said they met as freshmen living in Thurston Hall. They said the first time they played together was magic, and they discovered a groove that would carry them through four years of school.

When the students first formed Waterstreet “there was no music on campus,” Nashawaty said. That is when Waterstreet members approached PB with the idea for the Battle of the Bands.

Waterstreet plays at D.C.’s Finest at 9th and U streets every Thursday night.

After playing a “Farewell to GW” show in May, the band has immediate plans for a 10-week, self-booked, self-managed tour after graduation, and said they will spend the next few years touring the country in a school bus, but are unsure if they will settle down any time soon.

“Hey, if the bus breaks down in Las Vegas, that’s where we’ll stay,” Nashawaty said.

Waterstreet and Richman will begin the music at Spring Fling at noon Saturday. Philadelphia rap group The Roots will bring two new groups from its label, RAI Nation and PRU, who will also open the show, PB Concerts Chair Alex Harisiadis said.

Although Nelson’s band Bradford Ave. did not make it into Spring Fling, he showed little discouragement at the end of the night.

“It’s all love and music,” he said.