Battle of the Bands 2024 is taking place on Sunday, March 24 at 7 p.m. in the Bissinger Room. This event is a showcase of student bands and the winners have the opportunity to open for Techfest 2024, the biggest Entertainment Committee campus event of the year. The audience at Battle of the Bands votes on their favorite student acts and the top three winners become Techfest openers.
The winner of Battle of the Bands 2023, Sofie Lopez, described their experience as “so fun and fulfilling,” and one of their favorite performances as a band together. The band members consist of sister and brother Sofia and Brandon Lopez, and Stevens students Diego Ramirez, Brandt Ryan, Kiera Kennedy. Techfest was the first time Sofia had performed her original songs for a large and engaged audience like Techfest. It was a rewarding and memorable experience, and long hours were put into rehearsing, publicizing the show, and making matching shirts for the band’s members. “We all signed a copy of our setlist and it’s hanging up in my room at home,” she commented. “More than anything, I’m happy that my band’s performance and my songs connected with people.”
The Techfest opening slot is highly coveted among Stevens performers, and last year there was turmoil over the winners of the competition. The bands that received the most votes in 2023 were Sofie Lopez, Water Damage, Butane, and Dale. Water Damage received the second most votes, but “due to unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances” pertaining to criticism following Battle of the Bands 2023, they did not perform at Techfest. Competitors questioned the validity of the voting members, methods, and weighting. The Entertainment Committee is working on changes to the structure of Battle of the Bands in an effort to be as transparent as possible so that everyone feels heard. Mollie Good of the Entertainment Committee elaborated on the procedure and stated “We have a no harassment policy and want the best experience possible for the bands and their performers.”
This year, six bands will be given the opportunity to compete, performing 20 minute sets. The form to be considered is still open, and after all submissions have been received, a committee will meet to determine the competitors. Previous winning groups will not be allowed to compete again, though individual members of winning bands would not be denied as part of a different band. The committee will consider a variety of selection criteria, like the band’s established discography and their presence on campus. They aim to include bands that are representative of student interests, though will not discriminate based on genre. Bands that were not selected to compete will be given transparent feedback on how they were evaluated.
Like last year, the winning bands will be selected purely on audience vote. The votes will be tallied from attendees checked in on DuckLink between 7-7:30 p.m. The aim is to ensure attendees be present for most of the performances from each competitor in order to receive the voting form. Battle of the Bands marks the countdown to Techfest, and while the headliner has yet to be announced, the anticipation is certainly building.
