But instead of big-name, road-tested headliners, Leland-palooza featured student bands, some of which were playing in front of an audience for the first time.

"It's a great way for Leland students to show off their talent," said senior Rupa Batel, who serves on the high school's entertainment commission. Batel put together the line-up for this fall's Leland-palooza, which ran Nov. 18­21.

Each band set up for a half-hour set in the quad during Leland's lunch period. Hard rockers Dying Elephant opened the music festival on Tuesday, followed by the alternative sounds of Left of Nowhere on Wednesday.

On Thursday Christian rock band Amplified Faith took the stage. Sophomore Stephen Matsuoka, who plays guitar, said he started the band with other members of the Chinese Church of Christ. Four of the band's eight members attend Leland.

While the band's songs aren't overtly religious, Matsuoka said the group is trying to get a message across. "We're trying to be a positive influence at our school," he added. "There's a lot of music out there that's not positive. We wanted to be an alternative."

Guitarist David Yuan and bassist Stan Chen, both sophomores, weren't sure of the direction they wanted their band to take when they formed Left of Nowhere in July with drummer Maggie Huang.

"We were having trouble thinking of good ideas for songs," Chen said. "Things just started coming to us, and we started to write."

They still improvise some lyrics, Chen said, and neither he nor Yuan could really describe their sound. Nevertheless, they agreed that the audience feedback from their Leland-palooza gig was "pretty good."

The music festival closed out on Friday with a rap open mic and hip-hop dance competition. Batel said another student showcase is set for spring.

For last week's showcase, Batel found just enough bands to fill each slot. In years past, she said, Leland-palooza has drawn so many bands that organizers were forced to divide the lunch period into two brief sets so that everyone who wanted to play got the chance.

"We have them come back for the variety show [in March] so they get to play longer," Batel said.

This Leland-palooza was also different because of the make-up of the bands, Batel said. "Usually we just have bands with all guys, but [Amplified Faith] and Left of Nowhere had girls in them."