After an intense night of quality competition, it was a band from Boyle that took home the Battle of the Bands crown May 6 at Neighbours Pub.
After an intense night of quality competition, it was a band from Boyle that took home the Battle of the Bands crown May 6 at Neighbours Pub.
The Lazy Saviours - made up of Dylan Shapka, Dylan Omelchuk, Tyler Nadeau ;and Mike Dodman - beat out five other talented bands to take first place in the competition. As grand prize winners, the group took home $750 and will perform a 50-minute set at the Magnificent River Rats Festival June 30-July 1.
“It's awesome. We didn't expect it and we're in bliss, ” said Shapka, the band's leader and vocalist. “We've talked about being able to perform on the River Rats stage so it's going to be great. ”
Bonnie Nichols, one of the event's judges, said picking a winner was tough because each band was “spectacular in different ways. ”
“For me, the vocals are what won it, ” she said. “It's going to be awesome, especially because they're local to Athabasca. ”
Second place in the competition went to the Bad Communicators, who shredded some of their original tunes in addition to classic covers that had the crowd banging their heads.
“The atmosphere was great, the sound was good and it was a really good vibe from the crowd, ” said Bad Communicators guitarist and manager Chris Twardzik. “It's always great to meet new people, and if we keep getting good receptions like this we'll keep playing. ”
River Rats treasurer Carli McKinnon said the evening and crowd that attended Battle of the Bands was amazing, and said she looked forward to seeing the winning band perform at festival.
“I think they're talented with their original songs, and they played some hits as well, ” she said. “They really got the crowd going. ”
McKinnon said with the Battle of the Bands winners selected, the lineup for the River Rats festival has been completed.
“Everything is really coming together, ” she said.
Advanced River Rats festival tickets can be purchased at riverratsfestival.com or at Value Drug Mart in downtown Athabasca. An advanced two-day pass costs $40.ss costs $40.
In the May 9 edition of the Athabasca Advocate an article titled “Boyle band takes local battle ” omits lead guitar Tyler Nadeau as one of the members of the band that won the competition, The Lazy Saviours. The Advocate apologizes for the error.
