West Chester University’s radio station needs your help to decide who is crowned the best band in the area for the upcoming annual Battle of the Bands. The Grand Ram Band Slam is back this year with a brand new list of competitors. WCUR received a total of 87 demos, and then narrowed the demos down to 16 bands that would be played on the radio in the competition. The first round of voting lasted two weeks and narrowed the bands even further to 8 bands for the second round of voting. The final round will take place in Sykes Ballroom where the four final bands will perform live.
Katie Hazzard, WCUR’s General Manager, says, “WCUR does the battle of the bands for a couple reasons. First, to provide entertainment to the WCU community with local artists, also, to promote the station and to let WCU know that West Chester has an outstanding radio station catering to the community with the latest in music trends. We also hold the event to show WCU that we are an active and important aspect to WCU. And of course, to have a good time listening to some amazing music for free!”
Voting for each of the rounds are done completely by the listeners. To hear the daily “battle,” listeners tune in for at least one hour on WCUR 91.7 FM to hear the bands battling and then head to www.wcur.fm to vote for their choice of which band will move on to the next round. Each listener is given one vote each day.
The audience also decides the winner of the final round. On Thursday, April 14, fans of the bands can come to the free show, starting at 6:30 p.m. and receive a wristband. This wristband will grant them access to vote. At 9 p.m., the wristband distribution ends and at 9:45 p.m., voting begins.
The band with the most votes will be crowned the King of the West Chester Music Scene and will also receive $1,000 to use however they want. Hazzard says, “I hope the winner uses it to help their band progress with their individual sound with either buying new equipment or use it for a recording studio session. But honestly they can use the money for whatever cause they feel fit.”
The event’s audience will have chances to win giveaways from WCUR and also free food.
The competitors for the final week of online voting are as follows: The Preps vs. Emergency Four (Monday); The Ashley Foreman Five vs. Kamakazi (Tuesday); My Sweet Red vs. Faint of Heart (Wednesday); and Cadence vs. Autumn Affair (Thursday).