I did college of swords with dual hand crossbows and short swords. I also took 3 levels of rogue to get the second bonus action (for 4 attacks per round). Spell slots mostly went to utility stuff.

Valor is your tank. Strap on a shield and take some defensive spells.

Lore is your main caster. Mostly debuffs but you can pick up some variety with magical secrets.

For a full bard party, I'd probably take 2 lore bards for the spell variety and either take a dip into warlock or sorcerer or pick up Spell Sniper with at least one of them for access to better cantrips.

Doubling up on swords is also a good option since your bardic inspiration recharges on short rest (starting at level 5) and you'll have 6 short rests per day thanks to Song of Rest.