The band Avintaquin won this summer’s Battle of the Bands at the Velour Live Music Gallery on Saturday, June 29.
Avintaquin beat four other bands in the finals to win the competition. With more than seventy applicants, only twenty of these actually competed in the event. The competition spanned six days, beginning Monday, June 24 and ending Saturday, June 29.
The Battle of the Bands was started to support local bands in a larger venue. Bands from all over the state apply to compete in the competition.
“I love that it’s all local bands,” said Jessica Conners, a volunteer at the event. “Here is a place where they can come and get some traction.”
The competition gives each band a chance to reach a wider audience. Artists such as Imagine Dragons and Neon Trees have competed in and won the Velour Battle of the Bands.
The staff at the Velour venue encouraged bands of all genres to participate in the competition.
“They get an opportunity to share their art,” Conners said. “It gives a real variety too. The top five bands from the whole week (have) different styles.”
Each band spent considerable amounts of time preparing for the competition, with some even spending years.
Tessa Blackham, wife to a member of band The Bombshell Flowers, said her husband has been in the band for 13 years.
“They started the band when he was 11 or 12,” Blackham said. “And they’ve been together ever since.”
Each band brought their own style of music, playing songs from their albums and personal catalogs of music.
“They all have such different styles. You know that this is the best event,” Blackham said.
For more information about events at the Velour venue, individuals can visit velourlive.com.
