In 2021, Midnight3 performed at a Relay For Life Event in Parkland
A Parkland band with a big sound and talent to match will compete for a $2,500 prize Friday night at Boca Raton’s 4th Annual Battle of the Bands competition.
The members of Midnight3 are the rock n’ rolling Bronkhorst sisters: Layla, 15, on lead vocals, bass and keyboard; Bella, 18, on guitar and backup vocals; and Selena, 21, on drums and backup vocals.
Selena Bronkhorst, a student at Palm Beach Atlantic University, attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as a freshman in 2018 – the year a gunman killed 17 people and wounded another 17 in a mass shooting.
After the attack, she and her sisters began homeschooling and found solace in music, which she said helped her heal.
“After the shooting, I was very anxious, and my thoughts would always go to what happened,” Selena Bronkhorst told Parkland Talk on Friday. “Whenever I played music, my mind would just focus on music since it takes a lot of brain power and focus. Whenever I would play, I would feel so light – it could be drums, piano, guitar, anything would work. I would also write how I was feeling in original [songs], and my sisters would come and play [music with her], and that also created a stronger bond between us.”
The first song the sisters played together in 2018 was “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes.
“It didn’t sound too bad, and we and our parents were like, ‘You know what? That sounded pretty good,’ Bronkhorst said. “So we just kept practicing and advanced more in our musical abilities, and that’s how we got to where we are today.”
Midnight3 has played numerous shows across south Florida, including at Tarpon River Brewing in Fort Lauderdale, the Jupiter Farms Music Festival, Rudy’s Pub in Lake Worth, and multiple performances at Parkland city events, including last month’s Eats ‘N’ Beats Concert Series.
Bronkhorst said the sisters each started out playing piano as children before expanding their skills to other instruments while training at Parkland International Music and Arts School.
The siblings grew up playing Christian music but expanded their repertoire after Bronkhorst was introduced at age 11 to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” while taking drum lessons.
From left to right, Layla Bronkhorst, Bella Bronkhorst, and Selena Bronkhorst. {Photo by Marco Cruz.}
“From then on, I started looking up other rock bands from the 80s and 90s era, and that just started my growth,” she said.
Among the songs featured in Midnight3’s past set lists are “Come Together” by The Beatles, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, “Civil War” by Guns and Roses, “Zombie” by The Cranberries,” and the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” which includes a mean guitar solo by Bella Bronkhorst.
The band won the People’s Choice Award at last year’s Battle of the Bands and hopes to walk away with the $2,500 grand prize tonight for their college fund.
The sisters also plan to record an album featuring their original music in the near future.
The 4th Annual Battle of the Bands competition at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real in Boca Raton, is free and open to the public. The event will start at 7 p.m., with Midnight3 scheduled to perform at 8 p.m.
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