_{By Jeremy Thacker}

I have had the pleasure of covering a few battle of the bands here with Provo Music Magazine, but during that time I’ve never seen a more competitive night than Night #3 of The Boardwalk Fall 2023 Battle of the Bands. Tonight saw Dahbose, HASHA, Bella Grace, and Afternoon All Night give their all – and that resulted in one of the toughest choices I’ve ever had to make as a judge.

Dahbose

This write up is brought to you by Dahbose’s Cruncharooskis. Love ‘em til ya hate ‘em!

I think Dahbose had the most original set of the night. Their music had a clear Kid Cudi influence and also reminded me a bit of Atmosphere, but rather than imitate these influences they really made it their own. Dahbose had a very simple setup which allowed for all 3 members to show their strengths as musicians. The drums and keys found a great groove, and their vocalist is a natural showman.

My only criticism is that there was more to be done to get the crowd engaged. We could tell they were feeling the high energy on stage, but that didn’t always carry through to the audience. I think a combination of playing a shortened set and having the crowd still filter in during their performance may have been a factor there, but it’s one that I would have liked to see them find a solution for.

HASHA

In PMM’s review of HASHA’s Let Me Forget You EP, Abi Falin describes their music as “an amazing diversity in sound” and honestly that is the best way to describe the set. Their first song was hauntingly beautiful, before picking up the pace and transitioning to something with more of a jazzy indie feel. The rest of their set was full of moments like this, where they would flit between different genres, temporarily bringing in a Spanish flair, or a funk groove, before returning back to a solid indie sound. It was one of the most dynamic sets I’ve heard in a long time and left me wanting more. It’s safe to say that HASHA is really going places. Definitely keep an eye on these guys.

Bella Grace

Bella Grace’s performance started off strong but was cursed with a slew of technical difficulties that I don’t feel they truly recovered from. Bella’s voice and songs were fantastic. Being part of such a religious community, I’m a sucker for Christian undertones in music and found myself relating to a lot of the lyrics. With the singer-songwriter style, it was hard for me to listen to her voice and not draw immediate comparisons to Beeson.

Halfway through the set though, a fellow judge compared her to The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan and that’s a much more fitting comparison. To say she’s a talented vocalist is an understatement. The problems started to come in as they introduced their second song. Technical difficulties sidelined the rest of their set for a few minutes, and the energy immediately changed. The band seemed thrown, and while they were able to reclaim the energy and come out of their shell again, it took a couple of songs to do so.

Afternoon All Night

Afternoon All Night closed off the night with the most energy of any band tonight. Their bassist in particular really excelled at playing to the crowd and getting them on their feet. That’s not meant to discredit any of the other members of this band though – they all had great chemistry with one another, found ways to play off of each other, and had their own unique ways of bringing in the crowd for a truly fun performance.

I’ve found it can be really difficult to stand out as an indie rock band in this scene, and there were certainly moments where you could hear influences from other bands, but Afternoon All Night showed that they have the originality to cut through and make their mark.

By the end of the night it was almost impossible for the judges to make a decision. Every band that performed tonight had some great strengths and should all be really proud of their performances. After an intense discussion in the back though, the judges ruled Afternoon All Night the winner of night #3.

The Boardwalk Fall 2023 Battle of the Bands returns tonight and features Lighten Up, Francis; Ignatious; Slick Daddies; and Runaway Fire. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Tickets are on sale now.

In the meantime, make sure to follow Afternoon All Night on Instagram and check out their song “California” below!