Bloomington cover band Welcome to the Neighborhood has been around for almost three years, playing gigs at The Bluebird consistently. Soon, though, it could play its final show.
The band, which consists of four members, plays cover music from all different genres, including pop, rock, country, classic rock, indie, alternative and 2000s pop.
Front man 24-year-old IU alumnus Aidan Ross grew up singing. He said his dad used to play Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” on the piano, which he would sing along to, and his parents quickly recognized his talent. He later joined show choir and never stopped performing.
During his sophomore year of college, Ross played around with trying to start a band. It started with just him and two others playing in a garage, although that eventually fell through when they got busy.
It was with that group that Ross found the band’s name. After a garage practice, a note was left on one of their cars that read, “welcome to the neighborhood, boy band,” which gave Ross the idea.
While that original group didn’t work out, Ross found a new group when at a bar in 2023, he met another IU student, Evan Lesniewski, who told him he wanted to start a band. A couple weeks later, with Lesniewski on the guitar, his roommate Ethan SeRine on the bass and Maximilian McCoy, who grew up with Ross and reconnected with him a few months before, Ross had his band.
After a few shows with the group, Welcome to the Neighborhood was able to play at The Bluebird by calling in a favor from Lesniewski’s father, who used to play there.
“We called that first show our nepotism show, and then from then on we earned our way through it,” Ross said.
This was just the beginning of Welcome to the Neighborhood’s story. After playing together for a little over two years, Lesniewski and SeRine had to leave Bloomington. With Lesniewski becoming an EMT, and SeRine going off to medical school, Ross and McCoy had to start again.
Through his roommate, Anthony Tamborino, also known as DJ Tambo, Ross met the rest of the current members of Welcome to the Neighborhood: 31-year-old Alex Kumar, who plays guitar, and 22-year-old Eli Sparks, who plays bass. Kumar and Sparks previously played in a band called Booze Cruise with Tamborino, but some members of that band graduated college. Ross had heard Booze Cruise before and decided to get in contact at the beginning of the fall 2025 semester.
“We got the call from Tambo, and I was like, ‘oh I know Welcome to the Neighborhood, I’ve seen them on the marquee the same weeks that we’ve played,’” Kumar said. “I’d had a chance to go listen to them, great energy and then I wanted to keep playing at The Bluebird so of course I told Aidan yes.”
The band has continued to play at The Bluebird with its current members, coming up on its 71st show at the venue. Although this iteration of the band hasn’t been a group for long, they have already created memories together. Ross said he will always appreciate playing to a packed house after all the effort they put in. Getting to perform in front of family and friends was a highlight for Sparks.
The future of the group is unsure, with its members set to move away or focus on other projects. While the band almost ended when Lesniewski and SeRine departed, this time is different, McCoy said.
McCoy, drummer and one of the original members, started playing instruments when he was 5. After trying out a few different instruments, he finally found one for him when his parents let him play drums at 7. He continued pursuing music through high school. Once he got to college, though, he stopped due to his busy schedule, only picking it back up once Ross asked him to join the band.
After playing for three years in the band, McCoy plans to leave for medical school in a few months, which is one of the reasons the band may split. Ross said their last show will likely be in March.
“I think what Welcome to the Neighborhood offered all of us was a really nice look at a spotlight that we kind of dream of as kids and wanted to explore and really got to explore with the band which has been really nice,” Ross said. “But I think three years is long enough to play at one spot.”
While the band may be splitting soon, each member’s musical endeavors will continue, in one way or another. McCoy said he probably won’t have much time to play music but will continue to be an avid music listener.
Sparks, who plays bass for the band, is also a full-time student at the Jacobs School of Music studying music education. He is part of another band, The American Pirates, with bandmate Kumar.
“I just do music all the time,” Sparks said. “When I’m not playing with Welcome to the Neighborhood, I'm writing music or practicing my tuba.”
The band members said their time together has taught them everything from time management to how to play for a crowd. Sparks said it has also made him a better bass player.
“Working with a number of personalities for a sustained period of time in that sort of setting really teaches you, or forces you to work better with people,” McCoy said. “This is something I would like to think I’ve improved at.”
The band will perform Friday at The Bluebird, and they will continue to play there, typically performing every few weeks until the band's potential split in March. The band’s schedule is available on The Bluebird’s calendar.
