By Michael Luce
The Boardwalk’s annual spring Battle of the Bands returns, and with it, a twist on the classic formula. Where previous years have included four nights of preliminaries and finals on Friday, the venue has added an additional night of music this year on Friday before the finals on Saturday. Now, not only will one band be crowned champion, another will also return with the title “Ultimate Runner-Up.”
Given the level of talent in the local scene, it can be disappointing that bands get a relatively limited time to show off their skills in these kinds of events. To combat this, The Boardwalk is introducing the “Ultimate Runner-Up” competition to give groups an additional opportunity to show off their skills and earn cool prizes. Each night, Monday through Thursday, one winner will advance to the finals on Saturday, like usual. However, a second band will also be selected to play again on Friday with the rest of the runners-up. Those four groups will then compete for the chance to be crowned the Ultimate Runner-Up. More music, more fun, more prizes, more prestige; what’s not to like?
Battle of the Bands is always a great time to get in on the ground floor with some awesome new bands and pad out your hipster cred before they blow up. The Boardwalk Battle of the Bands in particular has been touted as the perfect time to shake up your local listening palette, especially if you enjoy rock, alternative, emo, and punk.
The Boardwalk’s Spring Battle of the Bands begins Monday, May 13 and ends Saturday, May 18 with doors open at 6:30 PM each night. Tickets are available at TheBoardwalkSound.com. See who’s playing below!
Monday, May 13
Hostage Festival
Kid Presentable
Lipsill
Fairweather Friends
Tuesday, May 14
No 1’s Home
Dead Metro
Internet Lover Boys
Samuel Charles Band
Wednesday, May 15
Church Ball
Twin Systems
I’d Rather Be
Awakening Autumn
Thursday, May 16
Leetham
Analog Attitude
Eyes Buggy
Viridian
Friday, May 17
Ultimate Runners-Up night, lineup TBA
Friday, May 18
Finals, lineup TBA
Follow The Boardwalk on Instagram, and while you prepare for battle, you can check out “Another Headache” from last spring’s winning band, Ignatious!