On Oct.24, five bands will take the stage at Cruz Plaza for QuadWorks’ Battle of the Bands competition. Battle of the Bands is a live entertainment event in which student and local bands compete for cash prizes. The event is sponsored by QuadWorks and planned by its MercerLive committee. Last year, Mercer saw the return of Battle of the Bands after several silent years. MercerLive co-chair, Cailin Knox, said the decision to bring Battle of the Bands back to the stage this year was a simple one because “it was a successful event that people wanted to happen again.” QuadWorks hopes to make Battle of the Bands an annual event to give students something fun and unique to anticipate.
The basic constructs of the event will be the same, except with new competition. Applications and try-outs for bands were accepted through the end of September in preparation for the event. This year, students can expect to see performances by Boots & Cats, Korby, Estimated Prophet, The Flim Flams and FTM. Flim Flams often plays at BCM, FTM performs at RUF, and Boots & Cats jams in downtown Macon. All of the bands have representation from Mercer students, so the event should be a unifying event for both the community and the university.
Theron Bassett, MercerLive co-chair, after seeing auditions, remarked, “Cailin and I were very impressed by the performance of each band that tried out.” The bands represent different genres of music including rock ‘n’ roll, funk, electronic and folk. Each band’s performance should last about 20 minutes. Bassett confirmed, “Each band is unique and different from the other ones and should create a good show.”
Bands will be rated based on the evaluations of a panel of three judges as well as on the results of crowd voting. The criteria used for judging will include musicianship, originality, crowd interaction and response, stage appearance, coverage, and overall presence. The points range from 0 to 10 with 0 serving as the lowest possible score and 10 serving as the highest possible score. Judge scoring will account for 50 percent of a band’s score, 50 percent of the score will be determined by the audience itself. All bands will receive $150, and the first place band will receive an additional $1,000. The 2012 winner of Battle of the Bands was Mercer and Macon favorite, the Dirty Sound Professors.
Knox is excited for her first event as MercerLive chair. “The music will be good and the whole vibe of the event will be great as well,” said Knox. The event is free for students and the community. Battle of the Bands is Thursday, Oct. 24, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Cruz Plaza. Find Battle of the Bands on Facebook to stay updated as the event approaches. For more information, contact qwmercerlive@gmail.com.
