Vermont Battle of the Bands

And the winner of the second annual Vermont Battle of the Bands is…The Grift! They’ve received $2000 and all the glory.

Perhaps I’m partial, but I wish the Battle of the Bands could be every weekend. How awesome is it that the community comes out in force to support local musicians and to dance like nobody’s watching? There are people in this little town who really know how to cut a rug!

HUGE, HUGE thanks to Mogani, The Pilgrims, and The Grift for devoting two weekends to us and for sharing their endless enthusiasm and talent. To Bruce and Hobbes for their dashing good looks and mad emceeing skills. To our fabulous sponsor Magic Hat Brewing Company. To all of our competing bands; y’all have shown great spirit! To our judges, who have the least/most enviable job (Russ Lawton, Raph Worrick, Mark Lavoie, Ashley Calkins, Dayve Huckett, Neil Donahue, Kareem Khalifa, Andy Patterson, Tim Spears, Matt Jennings, and Drew Palscik). To my partners in organizing, Danielle Boyce of American Flatbread, Holmes Jacobs and Andy Buxton of Two Brothers Tavern, and Doug Anderson of Town Hall Theater. And to all of our audience members who make this event what it really is!

Thus concludes another year of the Vermont Battle of the Bands. Check back later in 2012 for more details on 2013!

The Grift! The Grift won on Saturday!

If I had a dollar for every person who came up to me and said that Saturday could have been our final round, I’d be able to buy a round of diet coke for at least 100 people at Two Brothers. Mr. Bolles very wisely refrained from trying to predict who might win. I think this is a testament to the caliber of the three bands who competed: the Pulse Prophets, Split Tongue Crow, and, of course, The Grift.

It was a fun, fun night with three amazing performances. A good time was had by all.

But the fun’s not over yet! Our week’s three winners, Mogani, The Pilgrims, and The Grift advance to the final round this Saturday, April 14 at 8 pm at Town Hall Theater. The evening will be hosted by Bruce & Hobbes of WVTK 92.1. $10 tickets are available through the Middlebury College Box Office through Friday afternoon. After that, you’ll be able to find tickets at the door for the same price. American Flatbread, Two Brothers Tavern, and 51 Main will be on hand to serve a light menu of food and Town Hall Theater will offer up a selection of Magic Hat brews. Did we mention that there will be plenty of room for dancing?

Dear Dan Bolles,

Do you have a crystal ball?

Much Love,

Vermont Battle of the Bands

Oh, man. Last night was great! We had an even bigger audience, and heading into the final voting, we did not have any clear sense of who might win. While mingling with our guests (many of whom clearly brought their dancing shoes and wiggle bottoms), we heard that a lot of them just couldn’t decide.

But decide they did. And the winner is…The Pilgrims! Solid scores from the judges and the recipient of the most votes. That’s the way we like it. Oh, and they’re hella nice guys. They’ll advance to the final round next Saturday, April 14 at 8 pm at Town Hall Theater. Git yer tickets through the Middlebury College Box Office or at the door for $10. A light menu of food and beverage (read: Magic Hat!) will be available.

A huge thank you to Thank God for Mississippi, a Middlebury College student band who stepped in at the very last minute to cover for Trench Town Oddities. You guys were awesome and fun and stylish and we hope to hear more from you!

And Stag Line? Holy cow. Another crop of young’uns (I say this as a fellow young’un). Wise beyond their years. Very skilled musicians with a bright future in the Vermont (and maybe beyond?) music scene.

Now, we move into the final night of the first round. WE ARE SO EXCITED. We’ve got the Pulse Prophets. We’ve got Split Tongue Crow. We’ve got The Grift. If you’re looking for a nail biter, this is it, my friends. Since the Middlebury College Box Office is now closed for the weekend, you can pick up your tickets for tonight’s competition at 51 Main for $5 (we open at 11:00 am today). See you tonight!

The Middlebury College Box Office has now closed for the weekend, so all remaining tickets for the first round of the Battle of the Bands are available at 51 Main. Get ‘em while they last! Tickets for the final round are still available online.

We’ve got to hand it to Dan Bolles. He totally called it last night: “But I’ve got Mogani as a dark-horse sleeper based on the band’s collective veteran savvy.”

Congratulations, Mogani! They’ll advance to the final round at Town Hall Theater on Saturday, April 14 at 8 pm. Tickets are $10 through the Middlebury College Box Office or at the door.

But we cannot forget about Prana and Nox Periculum. Many thanks to these amazing bands for coming out and giving great performances!

You can catch more Vermont Battle of the Bands action tonight and tomorrow starting at 7 pm at 51 Main. Check out the lineup and then get your tickets for $5 (tickets available online now through 2 pm on Friday; remaining tickets will be available at 51 Main).

In today’s Soundbites column, Dan Bolles of Seven Days speculates about who’s going to win. It’s true: this is anybody’s game.

Many thanks to Bruce Zeman and Hobbes for having us on their show yesterday morning! They’ll be emceeing the final round on April 14 at 8:00 pm at Town Hall Theater. Rumor has it that Hobbes will be decked out in his tux. No word yet on what or who Bruce will be wearing.

You can catch the Wake Up Crew with Bruce and Hobbes each weekday morning, 5:30-9:00, on WVTK 92.1.

Tickets for the second annual Vermont Battle of the Bands, sponsored by Magic Hat Brewing Company, are now on sale through the Middlebury College Box Office. You may purchase tickets online or at their brick-and-mortar location in the McCullough Student Center.

Being on the Vermont Battle of the Bands committee is a mixed bag. On the one hand, we get to spend a few hours in the Two Brothers lounge sipping coffee and listening to an eclectic mix of really spectacular music. On the other hand, we have to make some hard decisions about who’s in and who’s…out. If we could, we’d invite every band who applied to compete.

Join us in welcoming the following nine bands to this year’s competition…

Thursday, April 5, 7:00 pm at 51 Main, Two Brothers Tavern, & American Flatbread

Prana

Nox Periculum

Mogani

Friday, April 6, 7:00 pm at 51 Main, Two Brothers Tavern, & American Flatbread

Thank God for Mississippi (Middlebury College student band)

The Pilgrims

Stag Line

Saturday, April 7, 7:00 pm at 51 Main, Two Brothers Tavern, & American Flatbread

Pulse Prophets

Split Tongue Crow (Defending Champions!)

The Grift

One winner from each night will advance to the final round on Saturday, April 14, 8:00 pm at Town Hall Theater, emceed by Bruce Zeman & Hobbes of WVTK 92.1!

The application period for the Vermont Battle of the Bands 2012 is now closed. Thank you to all of the bands who applied this year. The committee is getting together very soon to select our competitors, so stay tuned!