Information for Participating Bands

Important Dates:

Jurying: July 13–July 26
Acceptance emails sent to bands: July 31st

Battle of the Bands Concert: Saturday, August 22
5:00pm (Doors 4:00pm)​

Application Requirements:

• Music must be original (no covers allowed)

• Sets must be at least 20min long

• All genres of music accepted

• Bands must be working in Washington State

• Bands must have proper license to all copyrighted music, video, and images included in the duration of their involvement. 

• No solo musicians

• All entries are final and may not be withdrawn from the event once submitted

• By submitting an entry to the ShoreLake Battle of the Bands, you attest that all information provided is accurate and complete, that you have the authority to submit said entry for consideration, and that you have read, understand, and agree to all terms of entry

• You must not have won a previous ShoreLake Battle of the Bands competition.

• If your band is selected, you must be available to play on Aug 22 from 5pm on.

Load-in Time: 3:00–4:00pm. Park map with load-in location and parking will be sent separately.

Sound Check: The first band in line-up will lead the main soundcheck. All other bands will have a quick sound check before performance. This process has worked well in previous shows and has been the fastest to date. Exact soundcheck time will be emailed by the sound engineer.

Performance Timing: Each band has a strict limit of no more than 15 minutes. Set change should take no longer than 5 minutes.

Location: Pfingst Animal Acres Park, Lake Forest Park, 17435 Brookside Blvd NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155

The bands will play on the Showmobile stage (portable outdoor stage). 

Backline Provided:

• We will be providing drum backline, but not cymbals.

• Drum specs are a 22x16” kick, 12x10” rack tom, 16x16 floor tom, and a 14x6.5” snare.

• There will be stands for hi-hat two crash and one ride cymbal provided

• A DW9000 kick pedal will be available if drummers do not wish to bring their own.

• If a drummer wishes to bring their own gear, setup and teardown that lasts beyond the allotted time will come from their set time

• Guitar and bass must bring their own amps, cabinets, and pedal setups

• The sound technician will be equipped to handle DI connections for bass and will mic cabinets at changeover

• Keys, loopers, etc. should specify how many mono and stereo inputs the sound technician will need to include in the mix

• Horns, brass, and other acoustic instruments without pickups should also be specified by the artist, so the sound technician can be prepared with appropriate mic options

• Bands should also specify how many vocal positions they will need for their set

Line-Check: Line checks will be done prior to the event starting. 

Parking: Main guest parking is located at Brookside Elementary it’s about a block away, so it’s a short walk. You are also welcome to park at Lake Forest Park Church, directly across the street from the park.

Awards: 1st and 2nd place will be decided by the jurors. People's Choice will be crowdsourced. The same band is eligible to win both awards.

Judges Choice: $1,500 

People's Choice: $1,500

Honorarium: $500 paid to each of the four (4) Battle bands accepted. Listen Here Opening bands paid $250. Paid within 3 weeks after the event. All bands eligible for Judges Choice and People’s Choice Awards. If there is a tie among the awards, two bands are eligible to win. All Band members over 21 will receive a drink ticket, no drink tickets required for non alcoholic drinks. (Listen Here! is a new this year all under 21 band concert that was held in June. The 4 finalists from that concert were invited to open for Battle of the Bands. Stages are hard to come by especially when under 21.)

Judging:
Our judges will be evaluating the bands on the following criteria:

• Musicality

• Technique

• Professionalism 

• Accessibility

• Originality

• Audience reaction

• Presence   

Parking: Band parking will be at the Lake Forest Park Presbyterian Church next to the park. When this is full, bands must park at Brookside Elementary (about a block away).

Food and drink options: We plan to have a beer garden and a few food trucks at the event. A Safeway, Subway, Starbucks and MOD Pizza are about a half mile away.

Important: Please - if you are sick, please contact us and stay home.

Marketing Material for Bands

Please help promote this event and tag ShoreLake Arts wherever possible. We are a non-profit and rely on donations to continue events like this. Word of mouth and brand recognition matter, as you know. Thanks!!!

Hashtags: #shorelakebattleofthebands

My question isn’t answered! We try to answer everything we can think of, but if we missed something, please email us with questions or comments: programs@shorelakearts.org