Six of the island’s best emerging local bands will compete this Saturday at International Community Radio Taipei’s eighth annual Battle of the Bands for the chance to be crowned champion by some of the most influential names in the music industry.
The event, held at the Taipei New Horizon between 3 and 7 p.m., showcases some of the most talented homegrown musicians on the island, with the finalist beating out more than 100 bands that submitted demos to the competition.
The annual ICRT Battle of the Bands, now in its eighth year, began in 2007 as a platform to support emerging local bands, creating a stage for aspiring musicians and rockers.
“ICRT created the Battle of the Bands to locate and develop local talent,” the radio station’s General Manager Tim Berge says, “And many of our past winners have gone on to do very well.”
Berge says bands not yet signed with a record label are invited to compete in front of a panel of judges and a live audience for the chance to win a cash prize, musical equipment and a week of on-air promotion on ICRT.
Previous competition winners include High Tide (2008), which went on to perform at the Fuji Rock Festival; io (2009), later nominated for “Best Band” and “Best Newcomer” at the Golden Melody Awards; and most recently Trash (2012) and FLUX (2013).
The fate of this year’s bands will be decided by a star-studded panel of judges including Team Ear Music Executive Manager Zhong Chen-hu (鍾成虎), Cheng Fong-sheng (虎神) of Quarterback and producer and Rock’n’Rap guitarist Swing Wang (王斯禹).
The event will also feature performances from female power vocalist Kris Kuan (管罄) and last year’s competition winner, FLUX.
The six finalists – Cindy is falling, Orientone, KyRa RAY, General Vinyl, Ultraviolet and Gina”s Can – underwent a lengthy process, winning the hearts and ears of judges and audience members at the preliminaries held at Formosa Fun Coast on August 16.
“This is the best final six we’ve had in a long time,” says ICRT’s Programming Manager Paul Meador, “It really could go any way.”
Meador says this year’s competition differs significantly from previous years, with the finalists bringing together a diverse range of musical genres from jazz, electronic, rock to hip hop.
In keeping with the theme of rock music that spans the ages, this year’s song list features classic British rock band, the Beatles, which was honored with this year’s Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The ICRT eighth annual Battle of the Bands will take place this Saturday September 6 between 3 and 7 p.m. at the Taipei New Horizon located in Songshan Cultural and Creative Park.
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