Sophomore Peter Vance wins ‘Battle of the Songwriters’

After waking up one morning last year unable to move, Peter Vance had to make a choice — rock climbing or music.

He chose music.

Vance, a UNC sophomore, won last week’s “Battle of the Songwriters,” a contest hosted by Carolina Creates Music, and the chance to perform a concert in Jack Sprat Cafe on Saturday.

Originally from Washington, D.C., Vance said he’s been playing music since he was seven or eight. Around the same time, Vance was diagnosed with chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis, a rare bone disease that makes it hard to perform any sort of physical activity.

John Vance, Peter’s father, said his son became interested in music because his condition made it hard for him to play sports.

He was also inspired by certain artists to pick up the guitar when he was younger.

“I have a nostalgic love of Jack Johnson,” he said.

These days, Vance said he is influenced by artists like Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver and Coldplay.

John Vance said his son’s passion for music began to take off when he started to write his own music.

“It was this art form where he’s digging down inside of himself. That’s when it clicked,” he said. “He makes it look effortless.”

Vance began to use lyrics that stemmed from personal experience in his songs.

“He starts with his own experiences and takes them out of his own context and pushes them into weird new places,” John Vance said.

He also described his son as a playful, experimental and “rootsy” musician.

Late last year, Peter Vance started playing with a band called Morning Brigade.

Gabriel Reynolds, the pianist of Morning Brigade, said that what drew him to Vance was his self-awareness as a songwriter.

“There isn’t any indecisiveness or self-doubt,” he said.

“He knows what’s going on with a song emotionally.”

The band’s music suits Vance’s background in acoustic indie folk rock.

“We’re just an epic band,” Vance said.

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