The four members of Half Past Seven had quite a day last Saturday, winning the Battle of the Bands competition in the afternoon and delivering a triumphant set on the main stage as the opening act for Connective Festival headliner Eve 6 at night.

The crowd rewarded the hometown band—two of the members hail from Oxford—with a rousing ovation when they were introduced by Monty "Moe Train" Wiradilaga, the master of ceremonies for the concert.

Half Past Seven is comprised of lead vocalist Nick Lombardi, guitarist and backing vocalist Steve Lombardi, bassist Brandon Ford, and drummer Zach Smith. The Lombardi brothers, who grew up in Oxford, have been performing together for years. The rhythm section of Ford and Smith joined just a few months ago, and since then Half Past Seven has been playing at venues throughout the tri-state area to improve their skills as a band.

The were thrilled at winning the Battle of the Band competition at the inaugural Connective Festival.

“The bands were all really good,” Nick Lombardi explained.

Smith called the opportunity to serve as the opening act for Eve 6 “surreal.”

“That’s a band that we grew up listening to,” Steve Lombardi added.

Half Past Seven delivered a crowd-pleasing eight-song set. They demonstrated an impressive versatility by mixing in some of the songs that they have written—“Other Side of Me” and “Away from You”--with covers of everything from a rock anthem (Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”) to a breezy pop song (Nsync’s “Bye, Bye, Bye”) to a heavy metal classic (Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”). They pumped up the Eve 6 crowd by performing an enthusiastic cover of Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy.” Wiradilaga joined in on vocals for that song, much to the delight of the crowd.

The members of Half Past Seven agreed that opening for Eve 6 was a great opportunity.

The band released an EP in late 2017 that can be found online at Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and many more online music retailers.

The band is booking more shows, and winning Battle of the Band competitions will help with that effort.

“We’re trying to reach as many people as possible,” Nick Lombardi said.

If you want to catch the band live, Half Past Seven has a show coming up at The Queen in Wilmington, Del. on Friday, Aug. 10. They will also be participating in the WMGK 102.9 FM Battle of the Bands on Thursday, Aug. 16. The band returns to Chester County with a show at the Hilltop Crab House in Toughkenamon on Friday, Aug 17. Half Past Seven will also be performing at Oxford’s next big community event, the First Friday Car Show, which is scheduled to take place on Sept. 7.

For a complete list of Half Past Seven’s upcoming shows, visit the band’s Facebook page or the website at half past 7 band .com.