Five local bands will face off on Friday in the second annual Battle of the Bands contest.
Organized by Youth Church Abbotsford and Alderking Productions, the competition features Ivory Coast, A New Divide, Mech City Busk, The Birch Taxis, and Poppy and the Pistols.
“It’s a safe place for youth to come hang out and provides an opportunity and space for local youth bands to play and be showcased amongst their peers,” said event organizer Jon Wiebe. “It’s really something that will appeal to everyone.”
Each band has 15 minutes to perform before judges, who will tabulate their scores and crown the winner. The judging break will feature a drime (drama and mime) performance by Power to Change, set to contemporary music.
The winner is invited back on stage for a 15-minute encore and receives a recording session at The Sound Suite in Abbotsford. The runner-up is awarded a band photo shoot with Kat Scheer Photography.
Ivory Coast is an alternative-indie quintet composed of Scott Currie, Rhys Burnell, Dave Dueckman, Steve Dahl and Kristof Schlagintweit. The students from Yale Secondary and MEI formed the band in 2009 and have already released two EPs and performed at several venues across the Fraser Valley, including the Abbey Arts Centre and Maple Ridge Arts Centre and Theatre.
A New Divide emerged on the music scene early last year, playing alternative-punk-pop. Four months later, the budding musicians found themselves featured on CTV News Canada, and performing on the same stage as music legends like ZZ Top and The Tragically Hip. Tyler Born, Matt Appenheimer, Ryan Krahn and Braedon Thiesen just finished recording their debut five-track EP with Steve Klassen at The Sound Suite.
The Birch Taxis are a rock-pop-indie band that’s been playing shows and writing music for about a year and a half. Aaron Dawson, Eleano Krahn, Matt Janzen and Scott Currie recently released their debut EP titled The Fire Alarm.
Mech City Busk is a garage rock band featuring Alex Macdonald on guitar, Alex Vevers on drums, and Zachary Keely and Kier Junos on guitar.
Poppy and the Pistols is a blues-punk-rock trio featuring brothers George, Josh and Levi Penner.
Doors to the Ag-Rec Building open at noon, with an indoor skatepark and Xbox 360 gaming zone. Parents must sign a waiver for all teen skaters. The Battle of the Bands competition kicks off at 7 p.m.
The Ag-Rec Building is located at 34270 Haida Drive.