Through the roar of the crowd and the drum roll, five eager bands waited patiently to see if their name would be called as the winner of Battle of the Bands.
On Feb. 10, Eagle Entertainment presented the event in Showalter Auditorium. Each band, who must have had one at least one EWU student as a band member, was allowed to play three songs. After the song, audience members voted for via Twitter.
Audience members voted by retweeting the name of the band they liked the best. Each retweet would count as vote towards that band.
“So we have our winners,” said emcee Tyler Rochon. “Drum roll please.”
Third place was announced and went to the group Mikkelson. Lead singer and junior Justin Mitchell and violin player and sophomore Brendan Colbert walked away with $100.
“We definitely want to continue to do more music, together as a band. We really want to create this sense of community with Eastern specifically,” said Mitchell.
Mikkelson played two original folk songs and closed their set with their rendition of Mumford and Son’s, “Little Lion Man.”
“We’re kind of used to playing more intimate shows at coffee shops and that’s fun too, but it was a lot of fun to get out and play in a large venue like this,” Colbert said.
Second place and winner of $200 went to Twist. This competition was band members Trevor Sherwood, Austin Carruthers, Scott Crites and Justin Patterson’s first show.
Twist, who also played original rock songs and did a cover of a song from The Who, received a standing ovation at the end of their set.
“It was a really good show. They did a really good job for their first show,” said freshman Velvet Sewell.
There were three bands left and one would be the grand-prize winner of $300. With the drum roll still rolling, the emcees announced resident hall CAs Kyle Sauve and Todd Membrey, from Pierce and the snyamcut respectively, of Fireside Lounge, the winners.
“I’m excited,” said Sauve about winning.
“Sky’s the limit,” said djembe player Membrey when asked what is next for the band.
The pair will be playing together at the Mason Jar on Feb. 27.
The other bands who participated were rock bands The Camorra and CW and the Fifth St. Band.
The Camorra’s lead singer Zac McMaster said, “We feel good. This was one of the biggest shows we’ve played.”
Drummer Brett Horstketter of The Camorra added, “There was a lot of good talent though.”
Some bands kept it casual when it came to dress, like Fireside Lounge, who wore matching red resident life T-shirts. Others, like The Camorra dressed up, wearing black slacks and white button up shirts.
Audience member Alexandria Dousette said, ”Overall the show was awesome.”
Kailee Cavaliere 