Battle of the Bands 2018
After an incredibly close competition, Bandsoc can announce that the winners of the 2018 Battle of the Bands are Persian Hugs!
What marked out this year's competition more than anything else was the huge turnout, and the fantastic quality of all the bands that played, as well as the variety of different bands that threw themselves into the competition. We've had everything from jazz to metal, via synth-pop, rock and indie this year, showcasing the extraordinary creativity that makes the Liverpool student scene so unique.
We held our first heat at Sound on Duke Street, where our eventual winners Persian Hugs were beaten into second place by the talented and popular metal/alt-rock quartet Polybius, who also overcame a strong last-minute entry from jazz jam quintet Astrocats. A memorable night of music was made even more memorable by the many members of the audience who came along to enjoy it!
Heat 2 unfortunately had to be cancelled, which meant that our final heat had 5 bands competing for 2 places in the final, under the roof of 81 Renshaw Street.
Scene stalwart GiIl Guillermo brought his band on to showcase his own unique globetrotting style, alongside electic rock group Lotus Bay and the newly-formed synth-pop collective Daisy Starspeed. However, overall winners came in the form of jazz-blues-funk quintet Green Tangerines and rock trio Porcelain, after a fierce competition.
Fiercer competition came in the final at the Cavern Club, where Polybius, Porcelain and Green Tangerines were joined by runners-up Persian Hugs and Daisy Starspeed. An incredible turnout magnified the incredible playing of all the bands, and the sheer quality of musicanship was exemplified by the fact that competition was so close the vote went to recount. Our 2016 winners Damn Fine, who played while the votes were counted, ran out of songs before the count could be finished, which goes to show both how large the turnout was and how high the quality of every band playing was. After a close struggle, Persian Hugs emerged as our 2018 winner.
We'll be hearing many of the musicans who played for us over the course of the Battle for years to come! Thanks to everyone who played, thanks to everyone who listened and danced and thanks to the teams at Sound, 81 Renshaw and the Cavern. Special thanks also go to our small and overworked committee: Connor McDermott, Oliver White, Katie Hall, Jacob Barrow and Jon Roberts. We'd also like to thank Fliss Kempson for all her help, along with Rob Close, Sam Robinson and Callum Carty.
Please check out the bands:
Persian Hugs - https://www.facebook.com/persianhugs/
Porcelain - https://www.facebook.com/porcelainliverpool/
Polybius - https://www.facebook.com/Polybius-190163408248373/ //// https://soundcloud.com/polybiuslp
Green Tangerines - https://www.facebook.com/GreeenTangerines/
Daisy Starspeed - https://www.facebook.com/daisystarspeed/
Lotus Bay - https://www.facebook.com/LotusBayMusic/
Gill Guillermo - https://www.facebook.com/GillGuillermo/ //// https://gillguillermo.bandcamp.com/
Damn Fine - https://www.facebook.com/damnfineband/ //// https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Io4L78L_IJkrX6yI-X1Ag //// https://damnfine.bandcamp.com/releases
