Last year's Battle of the Bands, hosted by South Piedmont Community College (SPCC), was a monumental success, drawing more than 800 people to the college's Polkton campus to watch eight bands duke it out for cash prizes. So organizers expected this year's event to be pretty popular, too. What they didn't expect was to more than double the number of bands participating? from eight last year to 27 so far this year, and still a few more days to go before the April 3 cutoff.
"We haven't really settled on how to cram all those bands in three and a half hours," said John Ratliff, director of student activities and organizer of the event. "I think our three- to four-hour timeframe will just be swamped with music."
At first, each band was going to have 15 minutes to play a few songs, but that's had to be cut down to about five to six minutes per group and probably just one song, Ratliff said.
The bands are not just from Anson County, but are coming from Union, Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, as well as even some from Rock Hill, S.C.
?I think we?ll have an outstanding turnout,? Ratliff said. ?The bands will bring their fans and friends, and we?ll have people from Anson, Union and Mecklenburg counties here. Plus, in these tough economic times, it?s nice to be able to take advantage of a free meal and entertainment.?
The 2009 Battle of the Bands is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. on Friday, May 1, on the L.L. Polk Campus, Highway 74 in Polkton.
Free food will be available for the first 1,000 attendees. High school and college students with proper ID will also receive free T-shirts, while supplies last. Rides and inflatables will be available, as well.
Ratliff said he encourages people to come early, and "hopefully, we'll be done by about 10:30."
"It should be a good night of family fun," he added.
The college is also hosting the Night Owl Carnival from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Friday, April 24, at its Monroe campus, 4209 Old Charlotte Hwy. Last year?s Battle of the Bands overall winner, Flatout Bluegrass, and third-place winner Reckless Youth will both perform during Night Owl. Inside SPCC?s Conference Center, visitors can choose between two feature films.
Interested?
For more information about either event, contact John Ratliff at 704-272-5375 or jratliff@spcc.edu.
