After a massive letdown this winter with Battle of the Bands getting cancelled, it came back better and stronger than ever. This was my first time attending Battle of the Bands, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but knew it would be good. Michael Burke and Alec Withers were the perfect choices for MCs, which was clear right from the beginning.

The opening act, Talking Babies Association, an a capella group formerly known as MaJoSeChelle, took the stage and absolutely killed it, as usual. Not only are these juniors talented vocally, they shocked everyone with a performance of Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun” with instruments in the background.

I’d seen quite a lot of social media buzz about Underdog Story, so I was very interested in what their performance would be like. They lived up to the hype to say the least. Jared Coleman blew everyone away with his guitar. If we weren’t already standing in front of the stage, he would’ve gotten a standing ovation. That kid can flat out play.

Projekt Theory threw me off a little bit since the leads were from Gilbert and the song about the “friendzone” was sort of irritating. Also at this point I needed a break from having my ego stomped all over by Jared on guitar, so I took their set as an opportunity to sit down and take a break.

When Trigger-Fish was announced, there was a weight that lifted from my shoulders. Yes, these people will bring everything back around. Thank god. Maybe it was intentional, maybe not, but their transition music got me even more hyped up than any of the previous bands. Sandstorm was like the icing on the cake. As far as the actual performance went, this was the first time I’d seen them close to the stage, so I enjoyed it immensely. Our concluding mosh-pit was very poorly constructed, but hey, there’s always next year.

Next year, make it a priority to come out for Battle of the Bands, you will not be disappointed.