By Julia Vergara | Staff Writer
The band Honest Men first performed at Baylor’s inaugural Battle of the Bands before moving on to produce their own album and tour.
Current Baylor students are now getting their chance for a big break through the month of February, as the Union Board searches for talent to showcase in the seventh annual Battle of the Bands.
Assistant Director for Student Union Jordy Dickey said Student Union has entered a long season of searching for bands. They are seeking musicians that cover a variety of music genres and have opened up the competition to include solo artists in addition to full bands. However, they do ask that solo artists perform with a band accompaniment.
“We’ve been really fortunate to get a lot of great submissions, and we’re definitely just looking for individuals that are ready to take their musical career to the next level,” Dickey said.
In order to audition for Battle of the Bands, contestants are asked to submit three performance samples – two original songs and one cover. The submissions are then reviewed by 17 members of the Student Union Programming Board.
Dickey said the board would also like to understand why contestants want to participate in Battle of the Bands and how they feel the competition could be a catalyst to the start of their musical career.
After all performance submissions are reviewed, five to six bands will be chosen to compete in the Battle of the Bands on March 24 during Late Night at the SUB Bowl.
“We want this to very much be a festival feel,” Dickey said. “So not only will we get to see these bands showcase their talent, but there will be food and a variety of comfortable seating and games that are available within the SUB.”
First, second and third place winners will be chosen by six judges, a panel composed of three professional staff members and three Baylor students within the music industry. At the end of each performance, Dickey said the bands will be given the opportunity to view judges’ feedback. The first place winner will receive a slot in the Diadeloso lineup on April 4.
“We also have a People’s Choice Award,” Dickey said, which is determined by the audience during the event. “That is the audience’s favorite.”
Since it began, Dickey said there have been a wide range of winners.
“We’ve had indie, we’ve had rock, we’ve had hip-hop, we’ve had a country artist win,” Dickey said. “This is a great opportunity to showcase student talent, so we really want to kind of drive that mission home.”
According to Dickey, Battle of the Bands has been gaining momentum over the years.
Jantz said Battle of the Bands typically draws in a sizable crowd, and she is working on making the event even more successful this year.
“This is an awesome event for the Baylor community,” Jantz said. “It gives us an opportunity to showcase the talents of our students. We have such amazingly talented students at this university and it is important to let them know that we see that and that we support them.”
Students can contact Graduate Apprentice Alex Jantz via email to receive a full set of instructions on how to submit their materials and how they will be judged.
