The Koozies perform onstage during BandWagon Magazine’s Battle of the Bands. Photos by Luke Purvis.
By Luke Purvis
The Ramspondents
BandWagon Magazine held its annual Battle of the Bands on Friday, Nov. 28, in Fort Collins.
Local bands such as The Koozies, Backblunt, Ducki, and Ash Red Horse and The Midnight Suns each performed a short set for the judges.
The Koozies are based out of Greeley. Ducki and Backblunt are based in Fort Collins, and Ash Redhorse and The Midnight Suns is an indie rock band.
Judges used a scoring sheet that divided the judging into five main categories:
Planning and preparedness, originality, audience engagement, quality of performance, and skill and professionalism.
Preparedness meant bands had their equipment ready, started on time, and showed they had practiced. Originality was about how unique their sound and style were. Audience engagement included talking to the crowd and getting people to clap or move. The quality of performance was checked to ensure the setlist was played smoothly and remained consistent. Skill and professionalism were assessed in songwriting/musicianship/stage presence, and the band's on-stage performance.
Audience members watch performers onstage during BandWagon Magazine’s Battle of the Bands
Each category had its own sub-scores, and the total points determined the final ranking.
Judges considered how well each band managed their time on stage.
Before the show, attendees could grab printed band sheets and promotional materials with photos and short descriptions of each group. Pens and judging forms were available to help judges keep track of the performances throughout the night.
The competition gave bands feedback on their sets and gave local musicians a chance to play in front of a live audience.
BandWagon’s Battle of the Bands remains a good way for Northern Colorado artists to share their music, performing for judges.
The guitarist for Ducki performs during BandWagon Magazine’s Battle of the Bands on Nov. 28.
Ella Savage, lead singer from The Koozies, described how their band formed: “We all met in school at UNC. We’re all jazz majors. We started hanging out, and sometimes we’d jam. We decided to start this band because we had nothing to lose, and we were doing this shit for no one. We all love music.”
Signey, lead singer from Ducki, spoke about the local scene, saying the community is “very welcoming. It feels like FoCo is more central, psych-rock, but there’s a lot of support for alternative music. What’s different is that there aren’t a lot of female musicians in Fort Collins. I feel like this event, having a couple of female musicians, is interesting.”
At the end, the Koozies won first place with the highest overall score. BackBlunt finished second. The other bands received feedback and scoring sheets that highlighted their strengths and areas for improvement.
Luke Purvis is a CSU Journalism and Media Communication student. He hopes to gain as much knowledge as possible so that he can come prepared when he graduates.