Beyond Medals: Rhythm, Faces, and the Creative Soul of the Regatta

At a rowing regatta, certain things are expected: coaches roaming the dock like they haven't slept in three days, shells, split times, and oars all over the place. What don't you expect is showing up to a race and leaving it talking about how good the food and that guitar solo were.

The Brentwood Regatta is that.

Every April, the waterfront in Brentwood becomes more than just a three-day rowing competition. It also includes live music, student-run food booths, and broadcasters walking the campus with mics. The rivalry is intense, and the races are real, but the event has expanded beyond any finish line.

For the whole weekend, the client entrance is occupied by Brentwood’s Music Program. Throughout the day, genres change: jazz, gritty rock, and smooth R&B float out over the water. "Playing here is nothing like a concert hall," said Julian G, Rogers '26. "You can hear the boys cheering for rowers and then turn around to cheer for your guitar solo. It basically feeds itself; the harder you play, the louder the crowd grows, and it continues."

The Entrepreneurship 11 & 12 students run a food square just past the finish line, which has developed into a unique Brentwood Regatta tradition. Mexican quesadillas, traditional Chinese dumplings, handmade lemonade, and hot dogs that were just too big to hold. "Running a booth taught me more about supply and demand than any textbook," stated Jesse O, Privett '27, whose team sold out of quesadillas in less than two hours. "You learn fast when a line of hungry parents is staring at you.” 

Interviewing Mr McGill, the Head of Rock Band, between sets near the main stage in the CIL was quite an experience: "You rehearse for months in a practice room, but performing out here, with the wind, the noise, the whole atmosphere, that is the real test. Watching a student step up and own it in front of the whole school and their families. That is better than any exam result."

The medals were real and well-earned. But ask anyone what they'll actually remember, and it won't be a split time. It'll be a friend's dumpling, a jazz solo by the water, or a reminder to come back to Brentwood's Regatta next year.

The Regatta ends. Brentwood's creative spirit grows on.

Gabe P, Privett ‘26