BELMAR — On Saturday, up-and-coming rock stars from the local area gathered at the Belmar Arts Center (BAC) to compete in a Youth Battle of the Bands event.
Inspired by competitions in their younger years, BAC musical director Kevin Spyker and assistant musical director Jen Clemens hosted the inaugural event that invited solo musicians, duos and full bands between the ages of 12 and 20 to the BAC to jam out and perform live in front of an audience.
“Some of the best feedback we got was parents saying, ‘We have nowhere to take our kids to perform and feel comfortable or be welcomed.’ We let them play it out and make noise, perfectly imperfect, that was the whole idea of hosting the event,” Spyker said.
Each act had an allotted time between 10 to 15 minutes and was judged on several different factors, including preparedness and conduct, stage presence, musicality, song selection and originality and authenticity.
“To teach, learn and collaborate and just feel like a kid and be able to rock. The kids really had so much fun and we had smiles on our faces the whole weekend,” Clemens added.
In the BAC’s first-ever Youth Battle of the Bands competition, local alternative rock group Etc. was crowned champion and awarded the top prize. Beckman’s On The Beach, a printing shop in Belmar, donated 25 T-shirts that were awarded to the members of Etc., inviting the group of young rockers to create a logo and expand their brand.
Along with band merchandise, Etc. will also serve as the main act for a concert in August at the BAC. Second-place finishers, Coastal Cadences, will serve as the opening act for the concert. A date is yet to be determined for the Battle of the Bands concert at the BAC.
Third place was awarded to Mascara. The group was awarded a workshop guided by Spyker, who will provide the young musicians with tips and pointers to improve their performances, while offering the group a space to rehearse and practice.
In addition to podium prizes, the BAC Battle of the Bands featured pizza from Federico’s Pizza and treats from Main Street Donuts and Sweet!
The event provided a space for the young musicians to showcase originals and try their hand covering legendary songs, while providing a venue for the like-minded rockers to reveal their musical talents to one another in a competitive but friendly environment.
“The bands immediately became friends, they were all really cute and supportive of each other and wanted to cheer for each other. They were singing and dancing, and they all wanted to play together again,” Clemens said.
Spyker and Clemens hope the event becomes an annual competition hosted at the BAC.
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