The annual Battle Of The Bands, hosted by The Trent University Music Society will be taking place on March 21 in the Sadleir House Dining Hall, and they’re looking for musicians to audition to take part in the event.
The contest comes complete with some great prizes with the first place finishers winning $500 and eight hours of recording time, the second place band winning $300 and the third place band winning $200.
Last year’s event was won by I, the Mountain and the year before was won by Watershed Hour.
Last year was also their first year having moved the event from Wenjack Theatre on the Trent campus down to Sadleir House at Peter Robinson.
TUMS President Natalie Visser cites booking and scheduling difficulties at Wenjack for the switch, but says TUMS couldn’t be happier with the decision.
According to Visser, “Last year was the pilot year for doing the event at a completely new venue. It was so much better than we could have asked for, so we’re really excited to be going back to Sadleir again now that we’ve had a chance to work out the kinks—I think its going to be even better this year.”
They’ve already had five bands enter and are expecting anywhere between four and seven more apply before the deadline closes on February 6.
From the auditions, bands are selected by TUMS, says Visser, “We’re not judging the audtitions by personal taste or professionalism of the recordings but by musicianship.”
She adds, “We really just want to make sure that if you’re applying you’re really serious about competing and not just there to get on stage and joke around.”
Last year saw around 70 people, (or well over 100 people when you count all the bands) pack into Sadleir House’s Dining Hall to rock out all day at the event.
Psych-Surf band The White Crowleys participated last year, and while they didn’t place, had so much fun that they’re applying again.
This time with a stronger refurbished sound and the benefits of experience.
“It was a pretty full house and such a cool spot to play in at Sadleir. The crowd was having a great time and they were up close to the stage which is always nice,” they said.
They add that their favourite part was “getting close with a bunch of bands like Television Rd., Tiananmen Square Dance, and Brock Mattson and the Pool Sharks. The option of being in the band room backstage allowed for comfortable talks with bands that aren’t usually available at loud live shows, and we still got to check out the other bands when we wanted.”
Sadleir House’s already nascent sense of community and its location right-off of downtown is something that Visser and TUMS is hoping will help build bridges for the event as they hope to expand its reach and talent pool.
“We’ve started connecting more to the Peterborough music community outside of Trent and it’d be great to get more Peterborough musicians and fans involved as both performers and attendees. We really hope we can get a wide range of people out this year,” Visser says.
Visser adds “We always try and reach out to the community at large, because it’s really something that everyone can enjoy.”
Auditions should be sent to trentumusic@gmail.com in the form of mp3 files or web links, or submitted via hard copy at either the TUMS dropbox at Sadleir or at the TCSA office on Main Campus.
The deadline is Friday February 6.
The event will be held on March 21 and will be free admission.
Find TUMS at facebook.com/trentumusic.ca, their website trentumusic.com or follow them on twitter @trentumusic