A music competition for bands playing their own songs. This event aims to support emerging and developing musicians in Washington State and encourage appreciation for the art of music in our community.
Event Details
2021 Save the Date:
Semi-final Pool #1 | Tuesday 10 August
Semi-final Pool #2 | Wednesday 11 August
Finals | Saturday 14 August
2021 event details will be announced in April, 2021. See below for info on the 2020 Battle of the Bands. Creatively adapted with covid, the final was part of our Pop-Up Drive-In Series.
- WINNERS -
2020 Bands:
Cascade Cody
Yakima, WA
Country
Cascade Folk Band from Yakima, Washington. Exploring how to appreciate the beauty of the landscape and art from a play all too under represented in the realm of art!
Marina and the Dreamboats
Mountlake Terrace, WA
Rock
After being diagnosed with a tumor that threatens her right arm, Marina Christopher felt a fire to further launch her dream project. Writing and recording in between surgeries and radiation therapy resulted in 'Marina and The Dreamboats', a sassy and soulful band performing songs with depth, humor, and a contagious amount of pure joy.
CAMANO
Tacoma, WA
Pop
Based out of Tacoma, WA. CAMANO is a solo music project emerging from Sharis Kevin. As a creative, this project has been a long time coming. Her contemporary-folk sounds are inspried by growing up on Camano Island in the Puget Sound, Sharis has fond memories of waking up to the sound of her mother playing the piano and the ocean waves.
Now or Ever
(formerly Herb & Jellyfish)
Seattle, WA
Rock
Now or Ever is a melancholic alternative rock Seattle band formed in 2017. The group consists of rhythm guitarist/saxophonist/vocalist Bradford King, lead guitarist Andreas Laursen, bassist Jason Andrews, and drummer Jake Brooks. Their sound features ethereal rhythmic guitar, poetic lyrics, complex drum & bass patterns, and hard rock guitar fills that defy easy classification.
Clear the Chaos
Puyallup, WA
Rock
We are a Hard Rock band from Puyallup, Washington. We have played together for many years, but are coming back from a recent two year hiatus. We are ready to get back into the rock/metal scene. We are hard at work writing new material. Check out our EP on Spotify.
Hyaline
Seattle, WA
Electro
Hyaline is the electro symphonic pop collaboration between violinist/composer Bill Panks and violist Aleida Gehrels, often joined by percussionist Jacob Ransom. They recently made their performance debut at Doe Bay at MAI Festival 2020, and are in process of recording a full length album.
The Winterlings
Edmonds, WA
Indie-Rock
With songs as vivid as feature films, The Winterlings take listeners on unexpected journeys through birthing rooms and cedar forests, battlefields and flooded barns, chemistry labs and ferries crossing Puget Sound. Delivering literary lyrics with both male and female vocals, guitars, ukulele, violin, harmonica, piano, banjitar, and foot drums.
E. Pruitt
Puyallup, WA
Jazz
E.Pruitt is a Bass Soloist who plays all melodies on a 6 String Bass. His Live band consists of hired members to perform his original work and some covers. E.Pruitt has won a number of Bass Awards most recently the "2018" Seattle Sound Music Awards.
Stacy Jones Band
Shoreline, WA
Blues Rock
Stacy Jones is no stranger to success. She has been nominated, multiple times, for “Best of the Blues” awards in songwriting, performance, harmonica, and guitar. Their music has been described as "A Whiskey & Water Baptism that lace Blues and Rock edges." “With her feet firmly planted in roots-based music, Stacy Jones pays homage to the blues but experiments by mixing in some mild-Americana and subtle country licks.
The Mercy Ray
Lynnwood, WA
Rock
Born at a funeral, raised in a basement, nurtured with bourbon & sweat. The Mercy Ray is frenetic pop-punk with blues-rock roots. Loud and unapologetic and gonna slice into your eardrums with tales of love, breakups, dependency, pop-culture, the planet, & the Weird.
The Cosmic Wrays
Lake Stevens, WA
Indie-Rock
The Cosmic Wrays are a local performing 4 piece band playing surf, exotica (tiki), sci-fi surf, and spaghetti surf originals. We released our first album "The Cosmic Wrays are Go!" In September 2019, and are recording our second album now. Both albums contain all original music. People love our one of a kind sound, the fun live show complete with our crazy projected movie playing behind us, and of course who else gigs in space suits!
Wartux
Seattle, WA
Rock
Wartux is a Seattle based band focusing on original music along with a tasty & eclectic list of covers. Their self-titled debut EP released in 2019, and they recently released the single, "Locksmith," recorded remotely during quarantine.
2020 Prizes
On top of the prizes below, each band will be reserved a spot on the Main Stage at the Shoreline Art Festival 2021.
1st Prize
$1,000 Cash
One day of studio recording time at Robert Lang Studios
From the early Northwest sound of the Sonics and 15 year old Kenny G, to Nirvana’s final studio recording, to today's finest musicians like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Robert Lang Studios continues to expand, create and inspire!
“The environment where you create music influences the result.” - Dave Grohl
2nd Prize
$500 Cash
Mentoring with Roger Fisher! A one-on-one session in either singing, songwriting, guitar, audio and video production - whatever fits the person or band.
Born in Seattle, Roger Fisher was founding guitarist of the rock group Heart, globally known through the sales of more than 40 million albums.
3rd Prize
$250 Cash
Paired with a winner from the Shoreline Short Short Film Festival to create a music video.
Judges
Robert Lang
Robert Lang Studios
Robert founded Robert Lang Studios, Seattle’s legendary world class recording studio. He is the tech, creative force and visionary of the studio. Robert built it from the ground up using stone, marble and concrete giving it incomparable acoustics, atmosphere and killer drum sounds! The studio is home to thousands of recordings from local, national and international artists such as Dave Matthews, Foo Fighters and Peter Frampton. “If these walls could talk!”
Tina Lang
Robert Lang Studios Academy
Tina runs Robert Lang Studios Academy. “What better place to run a recording academy than Robert Lang Studios itself?” The one year audio engineering certificate program prides itself in offering hands-on training in a real working studio. Tina has been part of the music industry for decades. Besides managing RLS and RLSA, she has worked in marketing, sales, merchandising and promotion for Warner/Elektra/Atlantic Records. Her favorite part of the business is breaking new bands!
Doreen Mitchum
4Culture
Doreen is an Arts Program Manager who has been with 4Culture since it was the King County Arts Commission. She currently manages the Group Art Projects program, the Touring Arts Roster and the Touring Arts Roster Incentive program. In her spare time she likes to listen and dance to World Music, create Encaustic paintings, and read and write about esoteric subjects.
Nathan Yaccino
The Ballard Baitshop
Nathan Yaccino is a Seattle based record producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. Originally from Chicagoland, he moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2010 where he has been a vital contributor to the Seattle musical community, making records and recordings with artists such as Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Brandi Carlile, Noah Gundersen, Lemolo and many more. He currently works out of his private recording studio "The Ballard Baitshop", a converted sail loft from the 1930's.
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