From dynamic hip-hop to psychedelic funk, six unique groups rocked downtown Bowling Green for WBGU-FM’s First Annual Battle of the Bands. These Ohio based groups came together at Howard’s Club H to compete for the top prize in front of a full house.
With the promise of plenty of good times and the absence of a cover charge, fans arrived throughout the night to hear a wide range of live talent.
Bands were judged on factors such as music quality, audience reaction and originality.
Three awards were given to winners who received $1000, $500 and $250 respectively.
Local group Indian Opinion took home the top prize. After performing throughout much of the East Coast, the band received their first competition win in their hometown.
Taking home second place was another group local to the Bowling Green community. Student formed ensemble Modern Hollows performed from their brand-new EP, which is to be released later this year.
Switching up the sound, rock ‘n’ roll group Flatline Revival took home third place with their self-described “modern bite”. Hailing from Toledo, the five-member group brought a classic energy to the evening and catered to the off-campus audience.
Other participants Mascots (Cincinnati), Red Rose Panic (Akron) and Wild Nights (Toledo) each carried their own unique sounds through downtown.
In addition to the prize money, the first place band will have their music featured on 88.1 WBGU-FM. They will also have the opportunity to be featured by other Falcon Media outlets.
This is the first year WBGU-FM has hosted the Battle of the Bands. Station Promotions Director Christy Bacurin said the event came about as a way to use a portion of the station’s revenue to highlight some of the talent in the area.
“Because of the prize money, the bands weren’t expecting to be compensated unless they won,” Bacurin said. “The cover charge usually goes towards their expenses, but because we didn’t have those, we thought it would be the best way to bring people into the event.”
Starting in February, interested bands were able to apply via the WBGU-FM website. There were 20 applicants in total, and six finalists were chosen by fans who tagged their favorite bands through social media. The most popular groups were then asked to perform 40-minute sets for a panel of judges.
The station hopes to have a similar event in years to come, however, the logistics are still being discussed. They have had a substantial amount of positive feedback from Saturday and are certainly considering the possibility of making the Battle of the Bands a yearly reoccurrence.
“People were curious about when the next battle would be. Now that we’ve had such a good turnout, the public is really looking forward to it,” Bacurin said. “Hopefully next year, or whenever we have the next one, people will remember and want to be a part of it.”
One such student who will be keeping the event fresh in her mind is first-year student Morgan Keigley. Keigley came to the event with friends on a whim after seeing posters on campus. Though they had never been to Howard’s, they enjoyed the atmosphere brought on by the performance.
“It was just really rad,” Keigley said. “There were a ton of different sounds and the crowd was lively. It was a good time and the bands were all extremely talented.”
Keigley said they would love to come back for similar events and hope the station will continue to have such diverse and exciting opportunities in the future.
Live music from the event, as well as the list of participating bands, can be found at wbgufm.com. For more information about upcoming events, the WBGU-FM station Web page can be found on facebook.com.
